When was my family on food stamps? During Nixon/Ford.

When was my dad able to buy a better house and my mom able to get a part time job? During Carter.

When was my dad on strike/laid off three times from the Steel Mill and my mom had to work full time? During Reagan.

When was my living wage job search completely fruitless? During the Bewsh I Recession (resulting from Reagan's scandal-ridden, corporate raider-friendly administration).

When did I finally acheive a living wage job and was promoted throughout it? During Clinton.

When was I laid off from that job? During Bewsh II.

Why did my bank fail and was taken over (luckily had the safe landing, unlike many)? Because of the financial catastrophe that happened because of Bewsh II's pirate-friendly administration and Reagan-on-steroids economics.

When did times get slightly better for many? During Obama (I only say "slightly" because we still have a long way to go).

I believe this plays out the same way for a lot of people - the wage suppression was documented by Stephen Greenhouse in his book The Big Squeeze - detailing how 2000's-era sons that go to the same place their fathers worked now make half to a third what their fathers made for the same job. Sad.