You have to take cost of living into account. Looking at the dollar values doesn't really mean anything. When my father was my age, he was able to afford a house in a nice neighborhood, on a single salary, even though he only had a high school education. And he didn't have to bankrupt himself or get some kind of exotic mortgage to pay for it.

That hasn't been possible for most of my working life - a single salary, even at a professional job, wasn't enough to buy even a tiny house, unless you worked in some kind of Wall Street job. Most families needed two salaries, at least, and in the last ten years with skyrocketing housing costs, even that might not be enough, if you didn't get in before the boom. My parents also had a guaranteed pension for their retirement and good health insurance - things that have beome luxuries for me.

Earning "two times as much" doesn't mean anything if housing and other expenses cost 4x more.