It has more to do with a hidden class structure below your average white family, working for much less, providing goods and services at a discount. Inflating th

It has more to do with a hidden class structure below your average white family, working for much less, providing goods and services at a discount. Inflating the means of the average white family in a way that wouldn't be possible today because we're not as purposefully racist or sexist as we used to be. In order to make a better comparison one should compare what was affordable to the average black family in the 1960s (or whatever previous time period you choose for which we have figures) to today. There's other factors like the aftermath of WW2, the real and "soft" power the US held back then in comparison to today, and the role women played in the economy. Today's world is a lot different from then but the truth is that the wealth and power we've amassed since then should have us in a better position, not worse. The factors at play in today's economy are not benefiting the common man nearly as much as they should. We're beginning to look more and more like a post-scarcity economy every day yet our laws, regulations, and culture are not evolving with the times. The fact that land and homes are vastly inflated compared to regular every day goods and even the "durable" kind is strong evidence that our entire economic system stands on precipice of great change. Either we're just getting started on a great collapse or a great sea change in politics and economic systems. I very much doubt things are going to go back to the way they were... Ever. We as a society can decide to spread our prosperity around or we can increasingly suffer for the lack of it by continuing the status quo.