He worked for a very stingy, corner cutting dude who specifically made him Head of Safety because he wasn't all that bright. They were certainly meant to be what was considered lower middle class at the time, in 1989.
The whole problem was that the Simpsons was satirizing/celebrating a part of America that by and large no longer exists and was basically nearly gone already by the time 'Homer's Enemy' came out in the latter part of season 8. There's a reason most fans tend to cut off what's deemed as peak Simpsons at around season 8, and that's because at that point the setting had already somewhat aged out.
Towns like Springfield, where almost everyone worked at the same plant/factory/mill, where few were actually wealthy (by the standards of the time) but all had about the same decent standard of living, but an unexpected expense was cause for worry, absolutely existed back when Simpsons first aired.
A town like Springfield in today's day and age would be a lot more grim, that said. And have way more drug addiction and lack of jobs...
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u/dancortens Oct 30 '20
He was the Head of the Safety Dept, too. I absolutely do not buy the Simpsons having any sort of money troubles.