We have made so many advancements over the years that the standards are not even comparable. A dozen years ago my 40" flat screen tv cost about $1500. Now a much improved version of that tv would be not much over $200. Today, even the poor can have something that didn't really exist, even for the wealthy 20 years ago. How many illegals crossing the border have a cellphone? The standards have changed so drastically that a poor person today might have been considered wealthy 50 years ago.
That's what happens to a person that swallows too much.