>A contributing factor is people wanting [not needing] to live at a more luxuriant level than is necessary.

I agree. I've seen several articles recently that suggest that while the income of the middle class has been pretty steady, their cost of living is not. This is totally ridiculous. I think most people are clueless to the fact that making your own tacos from fresh food at the grocery store is much cheaper than dropping $25 to feed four people with low quality food at Taco Bell.

The cost of living is more or less the same, the cost of ignorance and laziness has gone up. They shouldn't be confused.