the gini coefficient disagrees. The US is the most unequal developed country, and continues to become more inequal. billionaires pay a lower effective tax rate than the bottom half of earners. if you think the economy includes all americans, then we’re doing horribly imo.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/08/first-tim...

Yet it used to be possible to buy a house and support a family with children on a single income, and now you would struggle to do it on two incomes. That does not sound like a big success for the economy to me.

Perhaps a reason to be optimistic is that this trend will reverse, but it is hard to see a road to that. In the medium term, we are looking at a large population of retirees to be supported by a dwindling working population, that are also faced with servicing a massive debt that the older generation accumulated; at the same time faced by a rising challenger nation. That sounds like it could be dreadful, actually.

You used to be able to buy an 800 square foot house on a single middle class income, live on spam and potatoes, et cetera. It's still possible to buy a mobile home, eat spam and potatoes and support a family on a single middle class income.

The two scenarios are not comparable. For example, they would result in very different social environments, different access to education, employment etc.

You're right, the 2022 child would have vastly improved access to education. Mostly, but not entirely, due to the Internet.