During WWII there was little, to no wealth created. The GNP/GDP was consumed to the tune of 38% by defense spending. No new appliances, autos, homes, etc., hard assets were built from 1942, to 1946. With the large migration of folks to the cities during the war, no one could build housing to support them. Huge numbers of people lived in tents and shacks while working for defense contractors.

Even Truman attempted a revival of FDR's programs, but was stymied by a Congress which had the good sense to defeat his "Fair Deal" legislation, and let the economy grow on its own.

My grandfather was born in 1899, and personally saw all the events the OP cited. One of the things he could say, was that his was the last generation that saw no planes in the sky, and in 66 years, saw man land on the moon.

This Historical perspective is not a cure-all, but it does offer some real insight & wisdom!
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It’s a mess out there now.
It’s hard to discern between what’s a real threat and what is just simple panic and hysteria.

For a small amount of perspective at this moment, imagine you were born in 1900.
On your 14th birthday, World War I starts, and ends on your 18th birthday.
22 million people perish in that war.
Later in the year, a Spanish Flu epidemic hits the planet and runs until your 20th birthday.
50 million people die from it in those two years. Yes, 50 million.

On your 29th birthday, the Great Depression begins.
Unemployment hits 25%, the World GDP drops 27%.
That runs until you are 33. The country nearly collapses along with the world economy.

When you turn 39, World War II starts.
You aren’t even over the hill yet. And don’t try to catch your breath.

On your 41st birthday, the United States is fully pulled into WWII.

Between your 39th and 45th birthday, 75 million people perish in the war.
Smallpox was epidemic until you were in your 40’s, as it killed 300 million people during your lifetime.

At 50, the Korean War starts. 5 million perish.

From your birth, until you are 55 you dealt with the fear of Polio epidemics each summer.
You experience friends and family contracting polio and being paralyzed and/or die.

At 55 the Vietnam War begins and doesn’t end for 20 years.
4 million people perish in that conflict.

During the Cold War, you lived each day with the fear of nuclear annihilation.

On your 62nd birthday you have the Cuban Missile Crisis, a tipping point in the Cold War.
Life on our planet, as we know it, almost ended.

When you turn 75, the Vietnam War finally ends.
Think of everyone on the planet born in 1900. How did they endure all of that?

When you were a kid in 1985, you didn’t think your 85 year old grandparent understood how hard school was.
And how mean that kid in your class was. Yet they survived through everything listed above.

Perspective is an amazing art. Refined and enlightening as time goes on.
Let’s try and keep things in perspective.

Your parents and/or grandparents were called to endure all of the above.

Before you start complaining too loudly remember, all that is asked of you is to,

‘Stay home and sit on your couch’.

Pendennis wrote: Polio epidemics were primarily a summer phenomenon. And one of the reasons was that people who got it often had been swimming in public pools..."

In my own history, sand boxes were considered a primary vector for polio contagion. My mother (a teacher) ran a summer camp some 70 miles away from Montreal out in the country. She kept the camp operating for a couple of extra months and kept me and other children whose parents so desired well away from the polio hotspots. That was in 1945 and 1946. She herself returned to the classroom to provide for attending students while I remained at camp.