The "Good Old Days?" Well, not so much, really.

[Joinfortmill]

155. I'm about the same age and....

My experience was a bit different. I grew up in a small N.E. city. I was raised by a divorced mom who received no child support. She worked as a waitress and we had a cute small apartment. I had my own bedroom and went to Catholic school the first 3 grades. No car, but it didn't matter because buses ran everywhere. We could afford to see a doctor. I belonged to the Brownies. I never went hungry (my grandfather had a garden but that was just supplemental veges). I always had clothes and my mom had a t.v. We were poor, but I didn't know it. When my mom remarried, I was nine. We moved to a townhouse and my new dad had a Ford sedan. Those were about the only differences.
My take is working class folks could live a decent life in this country until Reagan. (I'll spare you my own tale).After Reagan it got much harder.
The social ills are a completely different matter. In that respect, it was much worse.