And even then "keeping up with the Joneses" was a 1200 square foot house with 2+ kids per bedroom, eating out less than once a month, a single car and a single TV. Vacations were a drive to the beach; never out of state let alone out of country. You had a single set of "Sunday" clothes and the rest were hand mended.
They thought it was awesome because the 1930's were still in living memory and were way worse.
If you want that lifestyle today you can still have it on a single median income.
The biggest difference was health care. Back then a small majority had health insurance, but those who didn't weren't bankrupted by health emergencies -- you just died or suffered instead.
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And even then "keeping up with the Joneses" was a 1200 square foot house with 2+ kids per bedroom, eating out less than once a month, a single car and a single TV. Vacations were a drive to the beach; never out of state let alone out of country. You had a single set of "Sunday" clothes and the rest were hand mended.
They thought it was awesome because the 1930's were still in living memory and were way worse.
If you want that lifestyle today you can still have it on a single median income.
The biggest difference was health care. Back then a small majority had health insurance, but those who didn't weren't bankrupted by health emergencies -- you just died or suffered instead.