Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for February 20, 1977
Transcript:
Mark: Markk Slackmeyer *chunk*! *chunk!* Barbara Walters! *chunk!!! chunk!!!* Bring you the news! Good evening! Barbara Walters is on assignment tonight... and now, here's WBBY's alternate life stylist! Woman: Good morning, and have I got a tip for you women who run a household! it's called "Trade-a-maid" and here's how it works! Housewife A and her best friend, housewife B, spend weekdays cleaning each other's home. Their respective husbands pay for their services, just as they would for those of a first-class maid.... several benefits accrue. First, the husbands gain a sense of the real value of household work, and their wives gain the satisfaction of contributing to the family income! Secondly, and just as importantly, both women become eligible for Social Security benefits. Lastly, their cleaning equipment can be deducted on their tax returns. Back to you, Mark. Mark: Why... why... that's the most amazing system I've ever heard of, Nichole! Woman: Thank you, Mark. Mark: It's illegal though, right? Woman: Not yet.
Er, the wives in such a scheme do not “contribute to the family income”; but except for that …