Also with productivity gains, the average inflation-adjusted hourly wage of half a century ago is the same as it was in 2018, and it has popped slightly up and down since the . All gains have been sucked up by the heirs, the aristocracy.
Given the choice between a $1000 (real) basket of goods from 1956 and a $1000 (real) basket of goods from 2022, which would you pick?
To me the answer is obvious, 2022. Everything you get will be better. Better textiles, better food, cheap electronics...
Were we doing it the other way around, $1000 1956 dollars is only $10,700 2022 dollars. You might be able to get a car for $1k in 1956, but it's going to be strictly worse than a 2022 car--the two things aren't comparable. Which is a large part of my point.
If you prefer, I could have blown it all on a single college course, but that seems to belie the idea of a basket. :P
The declining prices are primarily in durable consumer goods, fuel energy, and consumer electronics. Food, healthcare, education, and rent (the things you need to live) have far outpaced "inflation" -- and this is more relevant to the average person because you don't buy a TV every year, but surely you buy bread every week.