If you have a much better TV than somebody had 50 years ago, then in that one particular way you're wealthier than they are. Ditto similar advantages over them in recorded music, communication, gaming (if you play computer games) and so on.
As for not being able to pay for a cancer cure without going bankrupt -- if it's a cure that hadn't been invented 50 years ago, then again you're richer than or level with people from 50 years ago, not poorer.
But all that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a problem. If it takes two parents working rather than one to "get by", then the fact that one is "getting by" in more style than people used to may not be consolation. Even without such considerations, wealth doesn't automatically equate to happiness, and inequality in wealth generally tends to detract (except perhaps from the happiness of those best off).
As for not being able to pay for a cancer cure without going bankrupt -- if it's a cure that hadn't been invented 50 years ago, then again you're richer than or level with people from 50 years ago, not poorer.
But all that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a problem. If it takes two parents working rather than one to "get by", then the fact that one is "getting by" in more style than people used to may not be consolation. Even without such considerations, wealth doesn't automatically equate to happiness, and inequality in wealth generally tends to detract (except perhaps from the happiness of those best off).