The right-wing isn't against the family wage. They're against the
"undeserving family wage." *Deserving* families should make a
family wage (and they do, by definition...). The right sets or
determines the conditions for capitalist reproduction; those
conditions then determine what a family wage is and which families
deserve it.
Bill Mitchell's observations that the right is against govt
handouts, unemployment benefits, subsidized education and health,
etc. are not evidence that the right is against a family *wage*.
They are evidence that the right is against government supplying
the equivalent of the family wage to those who don't deserve it.
Furthermore, if the wife would stay home and take care full time
of kinder and kitchen (not to mention the family wage-earner),
said family wage-earner would need a lot less money: no need to
buy expensive convenience foods if wife is home all day to cook;
probably less need for health care if wife is home to care for
sick (including parents/grandparents); no need to pay for
massage/body work for wage-earner, no childcare expenses; at best,
only need one car as wife can devote morning time to getting
wage-earner ready for work (since she doesn't need to go
anywhere), perhaps even drive wage-earner hubby to the train
station (god forbid they should take public transit like
socialists); etc....
As I recall, when wife works full time, both wife and hubby work
more total hours (wage and domestic labor time), so full-time
homemaker wife means less total work time, less mental and
physical stress, again less need for expensive health care ....
Anyway, this list of "savings" with full time homemaker wife goes
on and on. (It doesn't work the same way with a full-time
homemaker hubby; they don't have the genes for homemaking. And
girls don't have the genes for full-time wage work; that's why gay
or lesbian couples won't cut the mustard either. The intelligent
designer (should I capitalize those words?) make men for wage work
and women for homemaking. It's got to be a male family wage-earner
hubby and female homemaker wife.... :-)
I'm curious about what motivates the quiz question, Jim....
Regards,
Blair Sandler
