"The factory job that allowed my Pappy to raise us kids and Mom could stay home. " That factory that closed up and left because of NAFTA or Venture Capital taking over.
Politicians and Business Policy Makers love to talk about the Happy Days and Leave it to Beaver 50's/60's White Middle/Working Class economy - like it was real instead of an idealized post-War childhood dream.
Factory work was Hard and lead to shortened lifespans.
Middle Class wasn't unlimited consumerism , even for the higher wage earners; there was a lot of scrimping and saving for house emergencies, repairs, medical issues - my parents (Dad was a teacher who moonlighted as a gas station mechanic) couldn't pay off the monthly bills covering two difficult pregnancies, births, and follow-up post natal care (and the hysterectomy after my little brother) for ten years.
In the 1960's, State College Tuition for a Bachelor's Degree was cheaper than an attending doctor and hospital birth.
Yes, people worked in factories or in the skilled trade work all their lives - because those jobs took years off their lives.
And their widows ended up trying to survive on half a pension or a one-time payout, if they were lucky enough the employer didn't just shrug their shoulders and say - "He earned it, you didn't." And walk off.
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