> In the 60s it was possible for a man to work an ordinary job, buy a house, settle down with a wife and support two or three children. That's completely out of the realm of reality for many young people now and the plummeting birth rates show it.

Wasn't like that in 1800s, or the 1910s, or the Great Depression, etc.

World Wars happened and all of the industrial nations got bombed to hell and lost a generation or two.

The US didn't have that happen and was able to provide unprecedented prosperity for the Greatest Generation and Boomers because it would take 30+ years to truly rebuild and grow their population.

Sure enough the wheels started falling off in the 70's and 80s, and only technological growth kept the US on top. And that's slipping.