Lower standard of living

I was watching a video where Chairman Howard Davidowitz of Davidowitz & Associates, says that a lower standard of living may be permanent.
That is going to be hard for many people who through the years have been able to just go out and buy what they wanted, when they wanted. I really don't think that is is such a bad thing at all for some people who were clearly out of control with their spending.
When you look back to even the 1970's there was a lot less pressure to keep up with the Joneses. Most house's you would drive by just had bushes outside and perhaps a few flowers in a pot. Now it seems if you don't have a huge landscaped garden with a waterfall (I'm exaggerating a bit here) you are the loser of the neighborhood! Same with home entertainment systems. When I grew up we had a TV and only one color TV in the house. Later we did get basic cable and a VCR but that was after everyone else had it for a while already. And outside, most people don't even cut their own lawns anymore ( I do cut my own lawn).

It seems to me that people say they have to have these things because they don't have anytime to do it themselves. So they work harder to earn more money so they can pay these people to do these things for them. Perhaps it would be good for their children to cut the lawn and make some money so they can see how hard you have to work to buy something. 

I see teenagers coming out of Starbucks with their lattes and cell phones and think to myself there is no way my parents would have ever paid for those things for me as a teenager! For these kids this is normal. Of course I am sure our parents thought we had it easy as kids too. After all we rode the school bus and did not have to walk miles to school everyday like they did!