I plead observer bias - I've noticed the difference in my lifetime. It wasn't some halcyon golden era, but I was raised by people who grew up in the Depression,

I plead observer bias - I've noticed the difference in my lifetime. It wasn't some halcyon golden era, but I was raised by people who grew up in the Depression, and they had a certain Puritan streak about material possessions. And TV advertising is just a hobby horse. The first practitioners were "retired" OSS officers, principally propagandists. This certainly fits my desire to avoid it for aesthetic reasons. I'd just note that Prosperity Gospel really is a thing, caused (and carried) by Cable TV.