The question

It's fashionable during Presidential election years to ask the question "are you better off than you were four years ago?" That's too short a timeframe to ponder systemic issues, however. Considering the ever-growing power of government over the past sixty-plus years, the real question should be: "are you as well off as your grandparents?"

...in many respects our current standard of living is lower than the one our grandparents enjoyed. Sure we have a few more gadgets, larger televisions and more prevalent air conditioning, but the quality of life has actually declined. In the 1950's, the average man earned enough money to fully support a wife and four kids, all while saving for retirement and paying off his mortgage. Today the average man can barely support himself. It takes two bread winners in most families to make ends meet, and that is assuming only two children. Even with both parents working, the typical mortgage on the family home will never be paid off and retirement is now a pipe dream. Flush with high pay, low debt, and a strong currency, the Ugly American in the 1950's could vacation in Europe like a king. Now we can now barely afford the gas for a day trip to a Six Flags theme park.

This is a long-range perspective worth remembering when the bureaucrats ask for still more power. Should we reward such results?