If we're moving the goalposts to the 1950's, why not instead compare the 1920's to now? Hey why not the 1880's?

My point is that pareto distributions ("inequality") are not some evil to be eliminated, they're the direct memetic outcome of how humans work.

We can of course cut all the tall poppies to make everyone equal, but that's just cutting off your nose to spite one's face.

Allowing inequality to exist is why average Americans are the wealthiest people on the planet. Turns out all those tall poppies drive the productivity gains that accrue to all of us (hence why we've gone from near-zero Americans holding passports to 50% of people during the same time frame that inequality has increased).

I know, it doesn't fit with the narrative you have in your head so I won't convince you otherwise.