It's not nostalgia. It's an observation that the middle class is shrinking. There used to be lots of jobs that supported families that are now subsistence labour. "Well, you shoulda been a programmer" is not a satisfactory solution to the problem.
Doesn't that graph non-critically equate cost of living increases with monetary inflation? I other words, it doesn't take into account the fact that many assets (such as housing) have increased in price much more than inflation would suggest, nor does it takes into account changes in basic necessities (one landline vs 3+ mobile internet subscriptions, one new POTS phone every 10 years vs 3+ new cell phones every other year).