> The price for some cornerstone needs that govern access to opportunity - i.e. healthcare, housing, education
First, I wholeheartedly agree that this is the major stakes. I mentioned consumer goods prices because they're immediately tangible. The differences in the others are all too easy to handwave away as improvements.
> Everything from food to toys to tools got much cheaper than it was before
I don't know about toys, and they seem hard to compare. Food has gone up over the past few decades (groceries that used to cost $2 now cost $3, $3->$4, etc). From one of the first hits for historical milk price (https://www.in2013dollars.com/Milk/price-inflation): "Between 1997 and 2020: Milk experienced an average inflation rate of 1.73% per year". Note that I'm talking about sticker prices here, not any "but they actually went down with inflation", as the original argument was referencing stationary wages.
Tools are being made much more flimsy and disposable - eg real high speed steel has been replaced by inferior foreign steel with gimmicky coatings to "prolong" its poor wear characteristics. If you look at good quality tool brands today, the prices are higher than what tools cost several decades ago. This goes for appliances as well - take a look at "commercial" offerings that are built to be maintained.
First, I wholeheartedly agree that this is the major stakes. I mentioned consumer goods prices because they're immediately tangible. The differences in the others are all too easy to handwave away as improvements.
> Everything from food to toys to tools got much cheaper than it was before
I don't know about toys, and they seem hard to compare. Food has gone up over the past few decades (groceries that used to cost $2 now cost $3, $3->$4, etc). From one of the first hits for historical milk price (https://www.in2013dollars.com/Milk/price-inflation): "Between 1997 and 2020: Milk experienced an average inflation rate of 1.73% per year". Note that I'm talking about sticker prices here, not any "but they actually went down with inflation", as the original argument was referencing stationary wages.
Tools are being made much more flimsy and disposable - eg real high speed steel has been replaced by inferior foreign steel with gimmicky coatings to "prolong" its poor wear characteristics. If you look at good quality tool brands today, the prices are higher than what tools cost several decades ago. This goes for appliances as well - take a look at "commercial" offerings that are built to be maintained.