[GJones2]

I haven't looked closely at the details, but the idea of comparing conditions now with those of the past (favorably or unfavorably) -- or even of comparing technological advances enjoyed by average persons in a later age with what rich persons experienced in other times -- goes back a long ways. It's the premise, for instance, of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. George Will didn't originate the idea, and unless the specifics are very close, doing the same thing isn't blameworthy.

[Flaming Conservative]

I’d choose the 1950’s to go back to, if I could. Of course, I would want all the bad parts to be gone, though.