Where every silver lining has a cloud:

The unifying theme of Warren’s popular work is the “collapse of the middle class,” and she is capable of casting nearly any economic indicator in support of her core thesis. The entry of married women into the workforce massively increased household incomes, and would seem to therefore increase economic stability. Warren argues that it left families more insecure because they now lack an “extra” worker who could, in theory, fill the gap if dad’s hours were cut or he fell ill. The fact that clothes, food, and appliances have gotten far less expensive, and therefore eat up smaller percentage of any given families budget, would seem to be good news. But Warren sees only more insecurity; families could once salvage their budgets in tough times by making relatively painless cuts in these expenditures. Cutting back on clothes and food won’t help much anymore, because so little of the total budget is devoted to such things.