Things like the below are how you can know the current economic statistics are mostly lies:

Even adjusted for inflation, his grandfather’s mortgage was about 1/4 what you’d have to pay now. Economists like to say absolute crap like, “Houses are so much larger and higher quality now!” Which isn’t even really true, but it also ignores that housing is a good for which those standards are not a great measure. Most houses are not at all designed for multi-family living and these days, apartments aren’t that much cheaper (and in certain areas, like Sacramento, are actually more expensive for something comparable). And having a larger kitchen doesn’t matter when the real choice is having a kitchen vs. not having one at all.

I do wonder if economists believe their own lies? I think actually that many of them do. Otherwise, you get forced out of the field and not published.