I think there may be some validity to this.  Just considering all of the utlitiy vlaue from having a smartphone and the fact that it is not just the rich that have accesss to them.  Quite quickly smartphones became available to the masses.  Vehicles have many more features now than they did thirty years ago; multiple air bags, better economy and performance, comfort features like air conditioning are much more prevalent now than thirty years ago.  A lot more homes have a second bathroom now than in the past.

I think that the inflation adjusted wage comparison studies fail to account for some of these improvements in quality of life.