I mean, sure, but we gotta start somewhere. If you want my opinion on big, society-wide changes, "What needs to happen is that the average salary can provide a

I mean, sure, but we gotta start somewhere. If you want my opinion on big, society-wide changes, "What needs to happen is that the average salary can provide a citizen with a comfortable and simple life (housing/shelter, food, clothing, etc)" isn't enough. The capitalist system needs to be destroyed, and we need a new arrangement of society where workers own the means of production and the value is shared with everyone, not a few arbitrary billionaires. Restructure society to benefit everyone (or at least work towards that goal), rather than a society that unequally benefits the capitalist class. But until that movement is ready to happen, I think it's fine to acknowledge that the "real" cost of living has risen over the past few decades, while most people's "real" wages have remained stagnant. If it's not salaries, then I think the next thing to look at is the exorbitant housing and rent prices.