I have a friend who grew up in this particular generation. Before his senior year in high school, he took a shit job in the service industry and worked overtime to achieve his goal: To buy a new Ford Mustang. After a few months of working overtime, he had enough money to buy it, and had it payed off about a year later.
Imagine how motivated our newer generations would be in contributing to society, if their labor was worth as much as it was back in 1978.