Comparing the cost of living between 1975 and 2015:

[malthaussen]

27. Yeah, the evaluation is incomplete without insurance costs.

I bet pharmaceuticals are much higher, too, and more of them are used per capita. Both due to the rigors of age for Baby Boomers, and due to the fact that many more meds are prescribed now than heretofore.

Phone is actually not a good comparison for me, as I have a single land-line with the same rotary phone I had in 1973. But for the average household, I agree, this makes a big difference. More things are "necessary" now than in 1975, such as cable, internet, etc, all of which the servicing companies insist on "bundling" to "save money" (while raising the actual cost of communicating). Since real income has gone down since '75, disposable income is probably even less. The things that have gotten cheaper (electronics, especially) do not save enough to offset the things that have become more expensive.

-- Mal