Back then most new homes cost about the 2 year the national median wage (a engineer like these people made enough to pay off a home with their first year wage). Most people had full pensions at 55. 3-4 weeks paid vacations per year. And a single income could easily pay for a married couple and 2-3 kids. And 4 year degree cost about the same what a person working minimum wage for 8 months back then (most people paid for college degree working minimum wage jobs in the summer - that's also the reason why the GI Bill was seen by that generation as a joke).

But at least we can do cartwheels in our PJs working our gig jobs, be 2 paychecks away from being homeless, and maybe payoff our student loans before we hit 40.