Percent of income spent on energy increased? That seems very unlikely. I didn't find a handy FRED graph but looking at Nebraska data it seems to be the opposite

Percent of income spent on energy increased? That seems very unlikely. I didn't find a handy FRED graph but looking at Nebraska data it seems to be the opposite: https://neo.ne.gov/programs/stats/inf/195.htm https://neo.ne.gov/programs/stats/inf/195.htm Square footage of house heated and temp set point have also increased. If you want to blame Nixon for our modern comfort then maybe he should get a medal. We clearly feel that we can spend much more on it than we used to: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4456148/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4456148/ Miles driven per year have increased from 3.5k in 1970 to to 10k. If we're driving 3x as much, and cars are more complex, it would be weird if we weren't spending more on transportation. > The supply hasn't kept up with the demand since then. Yes, we agree, but this has nothing to do with Nixon, and everything to do with regulation choices that are independent of Bretton Woods. Again, you should look at other countries before deciding on something so monocausal for your explanation. > The simple fact now is the majority of Americans will never own a home. Despite the regulatory environment, home ownership in the US is almost the highest in history, and higher than 1970.