The amount of time it takes to earn enough to feed, clothe, and house oneself is one of the most important measures of human progress. By that measure, humans in the US have done very well over the last 100 years.
"The time price (i.e. nominal price divided by nominal hourly wage) of our basket of commodities fell from 27.26 hours of work to 3.85 (see the Totals line in column three and five).
The unweighted average time price fell by 87 percent (see the Totals line in column six).
Put differently, for the same amount of work that allowed a production worker to purchase one basket of the 42 commodities in 1919, he or she could buy 11.73 baskets in 2019 (see the Totals line in column seven)."
"The time price (i.e. nominal price divided by nominal hourly wage) of our basket of commodities fell from 27.26 hours of work to 3.85 (see the Totals line in column three and five).
The unweighted average time price fell by 87 percent (see the Totals line in column six).
Put differently, for the same amount of work that allowed a production worker to purchase one basket of the 42 commodities in 1919, he or she could buy 11.73 baskets in 2019 (see the Totals line in column seven)."