I was born in 86, and my parents divorced in 92 (which for me was the first step down in quality of life, and I've seen a few other people throughout the years remark on 92/93 being a step down). From there on things really seemed to deteriorate. I know a lot of people point to the dot.com crash and 9/11 as major markers, but I think 2008 had a bigger impact of the socioeconomic climate then anything. I feel like I have been living my life of pause since 08, like a sort of safe mode.
What about the rest of you, especially you older folks that have been around longer? Was there a before and after year? Or years where there was a progressive and noticeable step down?
Carter was awful with gas lines. Reagan was a big step up, despite the media. Clinton beginning 92 had a facade of good living, where large parts of the economy did wonderful while other parts were siphoned off to China leaving empty factories and fields. The decline seemed to stop with Bush II, but picked up again with Obama. Throughout, the encroaching bureaucracy grew and grew, making "getting ahead" harder and harder. Slow and painful. Knowing that I was worse off than my parents late 90s early 00s, despite working hard and being more successful than many of my peers was bad; when I realized my kids were being set up to have it even more difficult, circa 2010, it was tough to acknowledge.