Man, if that doesn't sound like a line out of Tobacco Road or Grapes of Wrath..
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I have read both and I totally fail to see the connection, it is simply an observation of fact. Most of the things I consider luxuries are not going up in price or are falling while housing, medical care etc. have gone up enormously. I would say that that type of observation is light years removed from Tobacco Road or Grapes of Wrath, two stories in which people were lucky to be able to stay alive. They certainly were not commenting on the relative prices of luxuries and necessities.
But then you would be far from the first to read something in that is really not there.