The cost of "a normal middle-class lifestyle" doesn't completely track a CPI basket-of-goods. This is in part due to changing consumer expectations, and becaus

The cost of "a normal middle-class lifestyle" doesn't completely track a CPI basket-of-goods. This is in part due to changing consumer expectations, and because some products simply change over time. A mid-size sedan you buy today will typically have more airbags and better efficiency than dad's '80 Corolla. It's going to cost more. Conversely, dad's mid-range TV was probably a 21" NTSC CRT. Yours is a 60" ATSC "smart" LCD , a product that no amount of money could buy in 1980. A new house today is likely to be a few square metres bigger than a house of similar market position 40 years ago. There are expenses that are everyday today that would be exotic or unthinkable in 1980: internet service, cable/satellite TV, and mobile telephone are obvious, but I'd also include 401(k) contributions (instead of employer-funded pensions), and college expenses, both your student loan debt service and the need to proactively safe for your children's attendance. Child care is also a changed factor, given the increase in two-income households. Saying "well, you make as many inflation-adjusted dollars as Dad did" doesn't mean you've kept my position on the social treadmill. When cheap credit goes away, that becomes more obvious.