did not have as many economic opportunities open to them back in the day, so it wasn’t worth it for many to get degrees or venture outside the home and work. Today this is very different, so many women & families have taken advantage of the opportunity. This has also tended to drive prices up a bit. So most families are financially better off than they were back then, because they have the option of having two wage-earners bringing home some nice bacon.

However, for some families that are more traditional, with only one wage-earner and a stay-at-home mom, things have gotten more expensive, without the second income to pay for it. I don’t disagree that for these types of families, it may feel like the standard of living has dropped over the last 5 or 6 decades.

Especially if they rely on manual or unskilled labor, and don’t have college degrees. Because this is the other big change. For those who work in factories and most other types of manual labor, the standard of living has clearly dropped (at least for white males; it’s a different story for females and minorities, as opportunities have opened up to them and pay has equalized). Whereas for those with university degrees who work with their minds, the standard of living has improved pretty significantly, well above the average, generally speaking.