Wendy Maily

I usually enjoy this show, but this morning (Saturday 12/15/18), I feel the need to comment on the RIDICULOUS piece about parents helping adult children to pay bills. I find myself having to stifle a disgusted laugh while shaking my head at the extreme disconnect from the real world that is displayed by EVERYONE in this story. First, the financial planner, who was chosen to criticize parents subsidizing their children’s living costs at the expense of saving for retirement, is talking to us while displaying her collagen injected lips and wearing a silk blouse. So many of us are struggling to make it one day at a time. Retirement is a myth for many average Americans. Second, the family that was chosen to tell us about “financial responsibility” consists of a man who works at such a high paying job in Denver that his wife can stay at home, in their OWN, BIG HOME, and care for their 3 children. We are told that these 3 unfortunate children will have to “rough it” with daddy paying for just the first four years of college. 😩😢 Oh, the humanity! Those POOR children! Meanwhile, in the REAL WORLD, I am watching this show from my 2-bedroom apartment in Colorado Springs. I have a bachelors degree (from 1999) that I am STILL paying for through student loans. I make 50k and live paycheck to paycheck. My 3 adult daughters are definitely struggling. They all live on their own and all work. The 3 WANT to attend school, but know that they cannot afford to. They are also hesitant to apply for student loans knowing that REAL people are strapped with this debt for decades. I am about to enter into 20 years since graduation. They were also victims (even as children) of the economic crash of 2007 and have experienced extreme poverty and even brief homelessness as a result. Pardon me if your piece made me a bit nauseous this morning, but I don’t personally know ANYONE like the Leave it to Beaver family that was chosen by CBS to represent an example of an American family. Not unlike politicians, journalists apparently have NO CLUE as to what REAL AMERICANS have to deal with on a daily basis. Life is HARD. Life is not what it used to be. Parents are struggling and so are their adult children. Sometimes families have to help each other out. This is 2018. Maybe you could come out of the 1950s for a moment and notice that.