I always wonder what constitutes "making ends meet."
I can't help but laugh when I read all the news articles about what it costs to have a baby. When you look at the breakdown it is ridiculously over inflated. They often calculate outrageous amounts for clothing and baby equipment. They never consider breastfeeding,cloth diapers, shopping the clearance rack for the opposite season or going to thrift stores and garage sales. They don't consider that you can buy 2-3 year old baby gear (most of which you don't need anyway) that has only been used by 1-2 kids, for a fraction of the price on Craig's list.
Babies are obviously only one category of expenses, but I would imagine there are other areas where cost of living is based on a very cushy version of making ends meet.
Many dual income families put so much towards daycare and dual student loans that it just doesn't seem to make much sense to have the mother work.
Sadly, women do takes jobs from men and it breaks down the whole family model.