A bedroom per resident is not a luxury, it is a basic need, that the majority of the people strive for and work for.
My family of five seemed to get along just fine in a 3-bedroom, 1,288 square-foot home through the 90s. It would seem that all this time I was ignorant that I spent my childhood living in squalor. Who knew we were living without crucial basic needs.
Tim, you can't have said that because you are - by definition - dead. You did not have the basic needs that we have established: one bedroom per child. Therefore, you could not have survived your childhood.
The definition of "the basics" (in terms of things we like and expect out of life) has gone way beyond what we need, which is illustrated by the lack of understanding of what we actually need vs want. The line between the two is so blurry.
I have no doubt that if polled, the public would define all these things as "needs":
-TV
-A car (even if a bus or other transportation is available)
-One bedroom per child
-The Internet
-Costco
I highly doubt that in mass the majority of the people out there are the "Hey, I want my kids to live two to a room, thats what I will work for to achieve, get education, move up and increase income, invest, so that all through middle and high school they will be proud of what I can provide for them".
Anyone want to point out anyone like that?
People who do have kids 10+ years old stacked two to a room are meeting a basic need not a goal of at least 90%+ people out there.
I went to school, graduated in mid 90s everyone in my class who I knew and have spent time with 20-40 people had their own room.
mukoh, your argument makes absolutely no sense. Most people want to be "better off" than they are now. By definition, the average Joe is average, which means his goals are to make above average salary and have an above average comfortable life.
Give everyone in the nation a 26 room manse and they'll all suddenly see the "need" for a 27th and 28th room. To steal your thunder, people are saying " I will work for to achieve, get education, move up and increase income, invest" so I can have a yacht and vacation home at Aspen. Just because they want it, or really want it doesn't make it any more necessary or mean the person can't live a wonderful and fulfilling life without it.
I think the following supports what RCC is saying. I believe we Americans sometimes forget that we enjoy a very high standard of living with respect to much of the rest of the world:
The Namgay family of Shinka, Bhutan: 13 people (father, mother, four children, one son-in-law, five grandchildren and an uncle), 726 square feet. That counts just the living space on the second floor, which sits above a barn for the animals.
The Abdulla family of Kuwait City, Kuwait: 8 people (father, mother, four children, two servants), 4850 square feet. This family also owns four cars and a 45-foot-long sofa.
The Costa family of Havana, Cuba: 9 people (father, mother, two children, their spouses, three grandchildren), 1400 square feet. Each of the three families has a separate living space within this area with its own TV, radio and stove.
The Natomo family of Kouakourou, Mali: 11 people (father, two wives, eight children), 990 square feet. The wives live in separate houses, but do most cooking and childcare together.
The Regzen family of Ulaanbaator, Mongolia: 6 people (father, mother, two children, father's sister and her child), 200 square feet. This house is a one-room yurt, called a ger in Mongolian, with electricity and a big TV set.
The Delfoart family of Maissade, Haiti: 6 people (father, mother, two children, a nephew and a niece), 325 square feet. That doesn't count a small separate cooking hut and a storage shed. There is no electricity or running water. Much household activity takes place outside in the courtyard.
The Zaks family of Tel Aviv, Israel: 4 people (father, mother, two children), 667 square feet. A three room flat on the fourth floor of a modern apartment building.
The Khuenkaew family of Ban Muang Wa, Thailand: 5 people (father, mother, two children, mother's brother), 728 square feet. This farm family owns a motor scooter and a TV, but no car.
The Wu family of Shiping, Yunan, China: 9 people (father, mother, two sons and their wives, three grandchildren), 600 square feet. No car, but a bicycle and a boat for harvesting water hyacinth from a nearby lake to feed the pigs.
The Calabay Sicay family of San Antonio de Palopo, Guatemala: 5 people (father, mother, three children), 216 square feet. The main item of furniture in this one-room house is a large loom with which the father makes his living hand-weaving.
The Ukita family of Tokyo, Japan: 4 people (father, mother, two children), 1420 square feet. This home contains three radios, one TV, one VCR, a microwave oven, a computer, and an electrically heated toilet seat (because electricity is expensive and it's cheaper to heat the seat than the whole house). Outside sit three bicycles and a Toyota minivan.
The Kalnazarov family of Tashkent, Uzbekistan: 8 people (father, mother, six children), a heated 600 square foot winter house and an unheated 1000 square foot summer house, plus a separate kitchen building and a barn for the animals. This family owns only one bed and four chairs, but its picture is one of the most colorful in the calendar, because of the many brilliant handmade carpets and quilts spread out on the snow.
Comments
Tim, you can't have said that because you are - by definition - dead. You did not have the basic needs that we have established: one bedroom per child. Therefore, you could not have survived your childhood.
The definition of "the basics" (in terms of things we like and expect out of life) has gone way beyond what we need, which is illustrated by the lack of understanding of what we actually need vs want. The line between the two is so blurry.
I have no doubt that if polled, the public would define all these things as "needs":
-TV
-A car (even if a bus or other transportation is available)
-One bedroom per child
-The Internet
-Costco
mukoh, your argument makes absolutely no sense. Most people want to be "better off" than they are now. By definition, the average Joe is average, which means his goals are to make above average salary and have an above average comfortable life.
Give everyone in the nation a 26 room manse and they'll all suddenly see the "need" for a 27th and 28th room. To steal your thunder, people are saying " I will work for to achieve, get education, move up and increase income, invest" so I can have a yacht and vacation home at Aspen. Just because they want it, or really want it doesn't make it any more necessary or mean the person can't live a wonderful and fulfilling life without it.
Median and Average Square Feet of Floor Area in New One-Family Houses Completed by Location
A single family house in the US in 1973 was 1660 square feet on average
A single family house in the US in 2007 was 2520 square feet on average.
You Are Not Your Square Footage - A 1997 article
The Namgay family of Shinka, Bhutan: 13 people (father, mother, four children, one son-in-law, five grandchildren and an uncle), 726 square feet. That counts just the living space on the second floor, which sits above a barn for the animals.
The Abdulla family of Kuwait City, Kuwait: 8 people (father, mother, four children, two servants), 4850 square feet. This family also owns four cars and a 45-foot-long sofa.
The Costa family of Havana, Cuba: 9 people (father, mother, two children, their spouses, three grandchildren), 1400 square feet. Each of the three families has a separate living space within this area with its own TV, radio and stove.
The Natomo family of Kouakourou, Mali: 11 people (father, two wives, eight children), 990 square feet. The wives live in separate houses, but do most cooking and childcare together.
The Regzen family of Ulaanbaator, Mongolia: 6 people (father, mother, two children, father's sister and her child), 200 square feet. This house is a one-room yurt, called a ger in Mongolian, with electricity and a big TV set.
The Delfoart family of Maissade, Haiti: 6 people (father, mother, two children, a nephew and a niece), 325 square feet. That doesn't count a small separate cooking hut and a storage shed. There is no electricity or running water. Much household activity takes place outside in the courtyard.
The Zaks family of Tel Aviv, Israel: 4 people (father, mother, two children), 667 square feet. A three room flat on the fourth floor of a modern apartment building.
The Khuenkaew family of Ban Muang Wa, Thailand: 5 people (father, mother, two children, mother's brother), 728 square feet. This farm family owns a motor scooter and a TV, but no car.
The Wu family of Shiping, Yunan, China: 9 people (father, mother, two sons and their wives, three grandchildren), 600 square feet. No car, but a bicycle and a boat for harvesting water hyacinth from a nearby lake to feed the pigs.
The Calabay Sicay family of San Antonio de Palopo, Guatemala: 5 people (father, mother, three children), 216 square feet. The main item of furniture in this one-room house is a large loom with which the father makes his living hand-weaving.
The Ukita family of Tokyo, Japan: 4 people (father, mother, two children), 1420 square feet. This home contains three radios, one TV, one VCR, a microwave oven, a computer, and an electrically heated toilet seat (because electricity is expensive and it's cheaper to heat the seat than the whole house). Outside sit three bicycles and a Toyota minivan.
The Kalnazarov family of Tashkent, Uzbekistan: 8 people (father, mother, six children), a heated 600 square foot winter house and an unheated 1000 square foot summer house, plus a separate kitchen building and a barn for the animals. This family owns only one bed and four chairs, but its picture is one of the most colorful in the calendar, because of the many brilliant handmade carpets and quilts spread out on the snow.