Working parents in Bay Area try to stay afloat

Is California one of the worst places to live if you aren't rich?:

Christa Harrington was proud when she got her teaching job.

Four years of college and three of graduate school would give her a steady $38,000 salary with guaranteed raises, summers off and a solid retirement.

Together, she and her husband, Shawn, night supervisor at a major resort in Santa Cruz, make almost $70,000, well above the state's 2004 median family income of $58,327. They had bright plans.

But they and thousands of other California families are finding that $50,000, $60,000 or even $80,000 barely keeps them going.

The supply limitations are the friend of the already rich.