That 70's Show

Not to beat a dead horse, but regarding Krugman's claim Over the past 25 years the lives of working Americans have become ever less secure. I earlier questioned the legitimacy of claiming that American workers are worse off over this period. Krugman is saying that basically things have been going downhill since around 1980, presumably because the evil Reagan and the father and son Bush team were in charge for much of that time. So logically, based on his statement, the corollary is that American workers were better off and more secure in the 70's. Maybe I am reading too much into this, but since the 70's immediately preceded the 80's, I don't know what other conclusion I could draw. But look at what Mr. Krugman said about the 70's mere weeks ago.

We shouldn't overstate the case: we're not back to the economic misery of the 1970's.

So which is it? Were the 70s a time of prosperity and worker security, or a time of economic misery? I guess the answer depends on what political point he is trying to prove.