Interesting point about new inventions, but I'd have to disagree with your general point. In 1950, you could certainly have afforded a house and a car on an engineer's salary. I'll use my father as an example - with a master's degree in physics, what would now be considered an MSEE, he had no trouble supporting a wife and 4 children, buying a 4BR house in the NYC suburbs, and buying a new car for cash every 5 years. I doubt if a single-wage MSEE could afford to do that today.