[thorwasdfasdf]

Look at the essentials and you'll see we've actually been going backwards, ever since the 1970s:

Housing: Now less affordable than ever. It takes more hours worked to afford any kind of shelter than ever in the last 50 years. According to an interview I once watched: in the 60s, a painter could afford a single family house and six kids and the wife didn't even need to work. today, two painters working together can barely afford shelter, even with no kids.

Cars: MPG has not improved. Look at a corolla from the 70s vs today, it's about the same. Comfort is roughly comporable, at least since the invention of AC. It now costs more to buy a car today than in the 70s, in terms of average number of hours worked in order to afford a car.

Education has seen the greatest amount of inflation. Whereas a high school diploma could give you a great enough salary to afford a house in the 60s. Now, not even a bachelors or masters is enough to afford basic shelter for many people living in the first world.

Yes, we have a gazillion more computers, iphones, smart watches and toys to play with. We can fill our entire house with plastic now. what goood is that if you don't have a house to stay in? where will you plug in all those electronics and your massive 70" tv, when you're out on the street?

[akomtu]

On the other hand, sport cars, helicopters, private jets, yachts and mansions have become more affordable than ever: when your net worth jumps from 100M to 200M this year alone, the 25M jet that seemed a bit pricey, now looks cheap. In the upcoming decade we're going to tackle private islands and recreational space ships.

[bhelkey]

Compared to 1970, cars get more miles per gallon, cost less, and last longer.

> Cars: MPG has not improved. Look at a corolla from the 70s vs today, it's about the same.

This is not true, MPG has meaningfully improved. From the EPA, "[sedan/wagon, car SUV, truck SUV, pickup truck, and minivan/van] are at or near record high fuel economy and record low CO2 emissions in model year 2019" [1]

New Vehicle estimated real-world fuel economy increased from ~14MPG in 1975 to 24.9MPG in 2019[1]

>It now costs more to buy a car today than in the 70s

The price of cars has risen below inflation:

The annual inflation average 1970-2021 is 3.86% [2] From 1970 to 2019, cars had an annual inflation average of 2.04%. [3]

Finally, a car today will last longer than they did in 1970. The typical car in 1970 would last until 100K miles. Today the typical car lasts more like 200K miles. [4]

In summary, cars cost less, last longer, and are cheaper than they were in 1970.

[1] https://www.epa.gov/automotive-trends/highlights-automotive-... [2] https://www.inflationtool.com/us-dollar/1970-to-present-valu... [3] https://www.in2013dollars.com/New-cars/price-inflation/1970-... [4] https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/automobiles/as-cars-are-k...