Let me reverse this: What do you think was better about life for the median working-age US household in 1973? Their house was smaller. Their car was less safe, less reliable and guzzled gas. They had no internet, no mobile phones and only 3 television networks. Eating at a restaurant was a monthly indulgence at best. Air travel was a luxury. Their children could expect to have seven fewer years of life, and were markedly less likely to go to college.

Think about how much someone would have to pay you to live a 1973 lifestyle, and it should be obvious why claiming there have been 40 years of “stagnation” is nonsense.