What has changed since the 1950s?
Massive government
Public unions
Higher and higher taxes
Pork, pork and more pork
More and more government regulations
An out of control tort system
Waves and waves of illegal immigration
God kicked out of the schools
Walls Street and banks bailout out by the taxpayer
and I could go on and on...
You can sum it all by saying wealth transfer from the working to non-working, expansion of the police state, and restrictions on individual freedom