At the household. Wife stays home, they own a home, college is cheap etc.. So If it only took 1 worker to earn enough to support wife, two kids,mortgage,TV set,car,10% savings in the bank a year. What exactly happened in the last 39 years? Taxes were also higher as well in 1970.
Basically, the world got a hell of a lot more competitive in the past 30 years. When Deng Xiaoping (spelling?) decided to open China up to the world, the fate of a large swath of the American middle class was sealed. You can pin the blame on the Fed too, for artificaly distorting the economy with perpetual inflation and not allow the demand for and supply of money to clear on its own. But, unfortunately, America had a winder post WWII into the 1970s where it boomed b/c the rest of the world was rebuilding and buying our stuff (Europe) or just didn't exist (China, etc.).
Question is will the S&P go to 300. Since this bull market was caused by borrowing,all kinds of funky creating folks figuring out how to polish turds etc. Something has to give.
Workers today -- or should I say up until recently -- expected they have a God given right to live like the rich and famous on TV. And that expectation is based on their 30k annual salaries paired with debt. 9 out of 10 taxi drivers, bank clerks and hospital nurses think they can live in a 4500 sqft house, drive 3 cars, go on 4 vacations a year and send the kids to private schools. "30k millionaires". The standard of living of a working class family in the 70s is easily achievable by a working class family today: A simple rented 800-1000 sqft apartment for a family of 3-4, one used 1995 Honda, no Gucci and Louis Vuitton for the wife, no nanny, no cleaning lady, no vacation, no private school.
In 1970 we had one car, one television with only an antenna, one telephone, no air conditioning, ate out 3 times a year, vacation was to our aunt and uncle for a couple of weeks, no prepared foods etc. Everyone else lived like that too and we were all content with it. I'm sure you could still live like that now and better on a single salary.
Well They did build nothing but oversized McMansions that is for sure, 5000 Square Feet for a family of 4 I wonder if the housing industry will get back to building houses about the size of the ones in 1970
People stayed home. People didn't have to fly across the globe to have a "nice vacation". People only had one hobby, not six. People considered gathering with friends and having good conversation entertainment. Kids walked to where they needed to go or rode their bikes... parents were not taxi cab drivers, and they didn't get a new car at 16. The extra-curricular activities for children consisted of school sponsored events, not all the expensive specialized activities kids get involved in. Eating out was a rare treat, not an excuse for not cooking. There wasn't so much crap to buy!
Now dont you think all this was possible because in 1970 credit was not as loose as it became later on? I wonder if credit becomes as tight as 1970 if we will revert to the basics. Maybe kids will interact and learn social skills. It seems all they do today is txt each other etc.. You never see them playing outdoors.