1980s: The price of housing is on the rise. Investment firms find real estate a lucrative place to make money, as Americans spend proportionally more for shelter than for any of their other requirements.

Today: New construction is stable, thanks to low interest rates, and the profits to be made are comparable to other investments.

1980s: Third World nations, like the "final uplands" mentioned in the poem, weaken their shaky economies by importing more than their gross domestic products can pay for. More than twenty countries are forced to default on international loans.

Today: The world economy is on the decline but is still enjoying a record-setting long period of prosperity.

1980s: In a development related to the rise of holistic medicine in the 1970s, more Americans started having their babies at home, with the aid of midwives.

Today: Holistic medicine and herbal supplements...