Imagine that your parents or grandparents buy a house, raise a family and live comfortably – all on one salary. Nowadays, many Americans hardly pass by with two full -time incomes. What happened?
The truth, as exposed in “1971: how all America’s problems can be traced to a unique date in history,” is much more explosive than you have been told. This is not about inflation or changing lifestyle. It is about a deliberate, top-down policy pivot that the financial security of millions of sabotage.
In August 1971, President Richard Nixon not only made a routine economic decision – he dedicated the rug under the middle class. By breaking down the link from the dollar to gold, the government fired from the tax discipline and lost Americans their last protection against runaway inflation. At night the savings of your family became vulnerable and the future was mortgaged for political profit in the short term.
A single, calculated law in 1971 destroyed the financial basis of the American middle class. (Istock)
Before this seismic shift, the salary of a single breadwinner was enough to buy a house and offer a family. After 1971 the rules changed – and not accidentally. Wages stagnated, the costs of living rose and the price of housing shot heaven. Families were forced in the ‘two-income Valstrik’, where even double the wage could not keep pace with the artificially inflated costs of essence.
Gold can sparkle, but it is still money. Taxes must treat it in this way
The households with two income today are a symptom, not a solution. The system is set up in such a way that, despite working harder and longer, American families are poorer than previous generations. The era after 1971 unleashed banks to flood the market with easy credit, making house prices to ridiculous heights, while the real income froze.
The result? The American Dream was converted into a cruel joke – a game rigged so only the rich victory.
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Politicians and experts will tell you: “That’s just progress.” But the figures expose the betrayal. A median home only cost $ 23,000 – four times the average family income – in 1970. Now that ratio has exploded, with houses that cost eight times what most families deserve. You don’t fail; You will be failed by a system that was re -set to take advantage of the few at the expense of the many.
The uncomfortable truth: a single, calculated law in 1971 destroyed the financial basis of the American middle class. And unless the decorated rules are confronted, the dream of homeowners – and a safe future – remains a remnant of the generation of your parents.
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Dave Erickson is co-author of “1971: how all America’s problems can be traced to a single day in history” and a bestseller author, award-winning journalist and Emmy-winning television producer.
This essay is from “1971: how all America problems can be reduced to a single date in history” (Post Hill Press) by Paul Stone, which will be released on Thursday 18 September 2025.
