I was having a discussion on PPD and it was brought to my attention that the median household income is only around $51,000 USD.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States

It led me to think that maybe all the squabbling we do on these forums and in our culture in general is largely just a result of our economy.

$51,000 is not a lot of money. A man and woman cannot maintain a traditional relationship on only the mans salary. For them to get ahead, it means that both have to work. It's stressful and it's time consuming. These conditions can lead to disharmony in a relationship and are not always ideal to maintaining unity.

This is how it is for most people. I can only think of three ways to acquire wealth. You are born into it. You hit it big somehow. You work your ass off and scrimp and save every penny you make. 9/10 of us fall in the third category.

Combine this with the fact that most people who are looking to start a family are young, and young people don't always make the best decisions. They want to sow their wild oats and have some fun. Furthermore, most are barely making enough to get by, let alone start a family.

To make matters worse, our culture is obsessed with materialism and sex. It's fucking shoved down our throats nonstop.

Something's gotta give. It just seems like most young people these days are saying fuck it, and YOLO'ing away their youth. It's hard to even argue against it. Tomorrow is no guarantee.

I think the future looks bleak. Men and women have forgotten what's truly important in life and that's the idea of family. If people can't get their shit together this country (U.S.) is going to fall apart.