Geez, I'm not so sure about that. Cost of housing, cable, beer, toys, vacations, cars.....look at what it costs to take your kids to a movie or baseball game. Costs on insurance? Roll the clock back 40 years and tell me costs and income are both comparable to today's.
First, the federal govt's appetite for taking your money never stops. By encouraging families to have two bread earners, more tax dollars, you lose the home ccare that most children thrive in, not the day care crap that goes on now. Forty years ago, incomes weren't as much, neither were the cost to take care of your family. Greed also factors into it where families want a bigger house, two really nice cars, big debt and no savings.