Jane Galt asks, How good were the good old days?:
But the fact that some of us have had to settle for jobs less lucrative or fulfilling than we expected does not mean that the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket. Yes, we probably can’t rely on social security, but on the other hand, it’s easier than ever to save for retirement, with Uncle Sam basically giving you a 30% match on every dollar you put into your 401(k). I think the most frightening thing for many of us is the feeling that we have no safety net–that we’ll end up poor and abandonned in retirement. But for most of us, it would probably be easy to save for retirement if we were willing to live like your parents did — or at least like my parents did. One television, no stereo, no VCR, no cable, one (used) car, six rooms for four people, no eating out, no cell phones, no vacations other than visiting relatives, stretching meat out with egg and bread and noodle rings, jello as a salad, turn the light off when you leave the room and get off the phone — it’s long distance!
(Hat tip to Marginal Revolution.)