re: #107 JC1

Productivity increases and automation brought a standard of living to the masses that was unavailable to kings 200 years ago. The average person is better off today than ever before.

That’s only true from a certain point of view. One good counter point (there are others) is that decades ago it was commonplace for a family in most parts of the US to be able to buy a home with income from a single earner. That is much less commonplace in the US these days.