The world of Bladerunner has flying cars, androids, space settlements, holographic projections. Advancement is not the same as "better off", especially if you're in the groups that see all of it but can't take part in any improvements. As a white male from the 70s (a demographic that would benefit far more than others then and now) things are both better and worse, depending on what you look at. In the subjects the meme touches, it's worse for most everyone but the wealthy. If you look around and don't see it, then you don't have brain damage, you're just isolated in your own shiny world (by choice or not).

Libertarian trash. It literally quotes their god Hayek at the end.

I would take cars off the original post. Cars are basically cheaper now today than in 1971.

The average car in 1970 was 5.6 years old. By 2022, the average age stretched up to 12 years old. Machine parts are being built to tighter tolerances, and the lubricants and paints and other coatings that protect against corrosion mean that cars are expected to last to around 200,000 miles, rather than the 100,000 miles that were normal up through most of the 80's.

In other words, that new car in 1971 would be expected to last half as long as the new car in 2024. And the robust used car market allows for people to choose pretty much any model of the last 20 years, when the typical buyer in 1971 didn't have that option.

Not to mention, today's cars are far faster and more fuel efficient than the cars of the 60's and 70's. A 2023 Prius does 0-60 in 7.1 seconds and gets 57 mpg. That's around sports car performance in the 1970s.

All the while, the industry has standardized catalytic converters, seat belts, airbags, automatic transmissions, air conditioning, power steering, power windows, power locks, etc.

And there's more to come, too. Electrification may make cars even cheaper, including/especially with maintenance and fuel.

Health care, though, no, that should stay in the original post. Yes there are new procedures and treatments that weren't available in 1970, but a lot of the procedures and treatments that have been around that long have become unreasonably expensive, from regular saline IVs to bandages to insulin to an overnight stay in a hospital. So the overall costs are still way up, even when accounting for the quality differences.

Probably worse than you think. In 1971, the family income was more often than not achieved by one person working. Now it's usually two.

Federal minimum wage is $15,080 assuming you work 40 hours a week and never get sick or take time off.

$55,000 is two people working $13.22 or a single person working $26.44