It’s easy to see why in most couples, both people choose to work.
We ran a story in our Wednesday edition that detailed the median incomes for communities across Vancouver Island.
In a surprise to exactly nobody, the wealthiest folks live in and around Victoria on the southern tip of the Island.
The rest of us range from just below the B.C. average, like Cowichan at $74,049, to a low of just $56,338 for Cowichan Lake.
But what does all of that really mean?
It was interesting that the Island Health data referred to total household income — so for many, that means the salary of more than one worker.
And a modest salary at that. Divide $74,000 by two and you get just $37,000.
Divide $56,000 by two and you get a paltry $28,000.
Think about what that means for those who are single and trying to make a living. Some expenses grow as you add people to the household, but some are fixed — like the mortgage.
And of course those are the folks in the middle. There are a lot of people who fall below that median line, some of whom are making significantly less.
While it is true that wealth and income aren’t necessarily equal, particularly when it comes to retirees, the numbers paint a general picture about wealth distribution that seems to be fairly accurate.
It’s also accurate about the state of salaries for many people living in Cowichan and elsewhere on the island: they tend to be modest, if not rather small.
This a relative judgement due to the cost of living on Vancouver Island.
While home prices may not be what they are in Vancouver, where you can’t even buy a postage stamp for $300,000, they are still extremely high compared to income.
Where it was once realistic for many to expect to pay off their homes within, say, 10 years of taking out a mortgage, that is a distant dream to most of today’s prospective buyers.
Terms at least twice that long are now the norm.
Which eats into the spending money households have for everything else.
It doesn’t help that food costs continue to go up, and it seems like every gadget you invest in is out of date within three years, at most. Then there’s clothing, childcare and health.
The steady march of growth seen by food banks tells us a terrible tale of what’s happening below the median.
It’s little wonder that most families today are two-income households.
It’s not to be able to afford all the newest, shiniest toys, it’s just to be able to afford to put a roof over your head and good, healthy food on your table.
If expenses keep going up, somethings going to give.