Subject: Re: Spy down another 4 percent,
<<Has American standard of living gone down or up in the last 50 years?>>

With housing as the main criterion I am not that sure how much the standard of living really did increase for a good part of the Western population - especially in the English-speaking countries.

USA 1970:
Average house size - 1240 sq ft
Average household - 3.58 people (346 sq ft/person)
Average number vehicles per household - 1.1
Average garages - 0.8
TV sets - 1.2
Home Internet - 0 (didn't exist)

USA 2020:
Average house size - 2300 sq ft
Average household - 2.55 people (901 sq ft/person)
Average number vehicles per household - 1.8
Average garages - 1.7
TV sets - 2.7
Home Internet - 42.86 Mbps