A bunch of refutations:

None of the prices are inflation-adjusted. That gives more sticker shock than reality.

> The Starter Home / No bidding war. / Gary just... bought it.

That was back when land was plentiful and cheap, and homes had fewer features and comforts. Now all the desirable land is taken, and existing homeowners don't want to increase density, so prices go up and newcomers get pushed farther out. NIMBYs and exclusionary zoning are a large part of the problem.

> The Pension / Your employer saved for your retirement.

I dislike the old-style "defined-benefit" pensions, because you are completely at the whim of your employer. They set the arbitrary terms of tenure (how much pension you receive in relation to how many years you work), pay-in, and payout. You're also reliant on your company staying solvent to pay you in retirement. Nope, I much prefer "defined-contribution" self-funded pensions where your account is segregated from everyone else, and usually you get to choose excellent low-cost broad-market index funds. In Canada, DC is RRSP, and I guess in the USA it's 401(k) and IRA. DC also allows you to job-hop much more easily because the amount you contributed to your retirement account is clearly yours and not a matter of company policy.

> One-Income Household / Dad worked. Mom stayed home.

I think that arrangement was bad for women's autonomy and rights, but someone more qualified than me can speak about it.

> National Park Vacation / Pay $5. No reservation required.

Well, the growth in parks didn't match population growth. Or there's a growth in domestic and international tourism in general.

> The Savings Account / The bank paid you 8% a year

I'm pretty sure that happened during a period when annual inflation was 10~15%, meaning that you lost money by "saving" cash. Also, interest is taxed at a much higher marginal rate than capital gains, so it's dumb to invest in cash instead of stocks. It is true, though, that in much of my adult life, the savings account interest rate is around 0~2%, making it a completely meaningless financial product to me.

> c. 1994 / The Family Computer / $2000

You can buy an entry-level laptop for about $500 since the year 2010. The barrier to entry in getting a computer went down gradually each year.

> c. 2000 / The $1 Slice / A massive, greasy slice of New York style pizza

I bought a $1 slice in NYC in the year 2019 and it was a decent size. I haven't visited afterward so I can't say.

> The DVD Collection / You owned your media.

You can still buy Blu-ray discs of your favorite movies. Most people choose not to out of short-term convenience.

> Flying / Free bags, shoes on

Those features aren't "free". It costs the airline money and opportunity cost to move your luggage (excess room can be used for paid cargo shipments). Those features have just been unbundled so that people who don't need the feature don't pay it, people who need it pay it, and you don't have the non-users subsidizing the users. That's like saying a $50 buffet is "free" even though you'd be equally satisfied with a $20 meal paid à la carte.

> 401k Matching / Free money

Lolno, there's no such thing as free money. "Employer pays" still affects how much the employer spends on you, which ultimately affects their calculation on who to hire and how much to pay them. It only affects the split of how much of the employer's money gets paid to you as an unrestricted salary versus restricted programs like healthcare insurance and pensions.

> The 99-Cent App / No accounts

I'm pretty sure you need an Apple or Google account to buy the app in the first place. After you bought the app, you can reinstall it for free on any newer phone that you buy.

> The Subsidized Smartphone

I heard that the old days were not good, because the 2-year contract forced you to buy a higher tier cellular service plan than if you brought in a fully paid-off phone. Also, there are significant fees for breaking the 2-year contract.

> Buying a House in a City / you could still buy a 2-bedroom in Austin for $210,000

Yeah, thank NIMBYs for that again. When residential construction can't keep up with demand (mostly due to regulatory reasons), prices go up.

> The Stimulus Check / Billionaires blame inflation on you buying groceries with it.

You don't believe that printing money causes inflation? WTF

> Remote Work / Your company saved millions on office real estate.

You make it sound bad. I think it was great - zero time spent commuting, access to amenities at home such as a kitchen, more privacy, better mood.

> The Subscription Everything / You own nothing.

Renting isn't necessarily worse than owning. There is a break-even point that is different for every person. Renting Netflix for $0.01/month would be awesome. Maybe most people will be happy to pay $10/mo to have access to an enormous media library. $100/mo would be unreasonable. Consider the alternative - how much per month does it cost to purchase physical media to derive the same amount of enjoyment from entertainment?

> The Tip Screen / barista ... ask you to subsidize their wages because the corporation won't

"The corporation" ultimately receives money from customers who pay for the product. If no customer paid tips, "the corporation" can't magically create money out of thin air to pay the employees more; the corp would need to raise prices on the menus (which I agree with).

No, the question isn't whether "the corporation pays", because that's nonsense; it's whether people are obliged to pay because it clearly says so on the menu price, or generous people "voluntarily" pay more towards the barista's wages because they are socially "expected to".

> The End. / You own nothing. You subscribe to everything. Your rent is higher than your parents' mortgage.

It's worth repeating: Renting is not necessarily worse than owning. For housing, many people have done the analysis and I can point you to a heap of YouTube videos explaining the situation. There are both financial and non-financial aspects (e.g. Realtor fees, breaking a mortgage) to this comparison.

I built "Middle Class Museum", a tour of things that used to be affordable