Income hasn't been raised to accommodate standard inflation for 45 years. The vast majority of Boomers and early Gen X sailed through life in the best economy witnessed for generations with little need for certifications, skill, or requirements for entry while making a liveable wage on top of that. Let's not forget that 1 person could carry the entire household on that wage as well.
It's not quite that clear cut. The 1950/60's were the peak of traditional American values. Jim Crow, Sexism, homophobia, racism, hard core Christianity, and a great sense of American exceptionalism. Would you be willing to go back to that?
The big question is what has changed.
I grew up in the 1950's/60's and saw the changes firsthand.
In the past, you would start out as an apprentice or new hire at a factory. They didn't care that much about your education or college degree. They would teach you on the job. This was common in technical areas too, such as engineering.
Prior to the 1965 civil rights legislation, companies could hire and promote anyone they wanted. It was possible to start as an entry level boxboy and work your way to president. But you had to work your posterior off and demonstrate real merit.
This was widely touted as a great strength of American Values. Only America had upward mobility based on merit. Other nations and systems, such as Communism and the old aristocratic nations, were accused of erecting artificial social barriers based on phony ideologies, to prevent the common man from improving his position.
That all changed with the LEFTIST civil rights movement. The fundamental value changed from merit to egalitarianism. Companies were sued if their hiring and promotion practices were not egalitarian. They were accused of running a 'good old boy' network.
Companies were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They wanted smart, motivated workers. But because they could no longer use their own internal criteria to choose employees, they switched to outside standards such as college degrees. That gave them some cover in case they got sued for discrimination. That led to the modern obsession with college degrees. Things got worse when the government stepped in with easy student loans. The colleges became degree factories. Now it's a zoo.
This is why so many people bought into Trump's Make America Great Again campaign. They want to go back to a time when people were promoted on merit, regardless of their sex or skin color. In contrast, Leftists see only the bad side of the 1950s/60s. They believe that true merit-based employment will always favor heterosexual Christian White Men. Which is unfair and must not be allowed, regardless of the cost to society.
So, what's the solution? I'm not sure. There may be no adequate solution.
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