"In what material dimension are we noteably worse off now than we were 20 years ago?"
My window was 10 years.
"Just because incomes have "stagnated" (which also seems to depend on how you slice and dice the numbers), doesn't mean standard of living has gone down."
No, it just means standard of living has stagnated, too.
"The constantly decreasing prices of material goods plays just as much of a factor."
We've had a lot of inflation, up until the economy cratered.
Well my question still stands for 10 years. Of course, if the window gets too small it becomes meaningless. Progress is never constant and moderate, there are always bad times and good, as long as the long term trend is upward.
Real wages have stayed pretty flat, but housing costs have skyrocketed, we are working more hours and not getting more vacation, and healthcare remains abysmal.
My window was 10 years.
"Just because incomes have "stagnated" (which also seems to depend on how you slice and dice the numbers), doesn't mean standard of living has gone down."
No, it just means standard of living has stagnated, too.
"The constantly decreasing prices of material goods plays just as much of a factor."
We've had a lot of inflation, up until the economy cratered.