Almost everything you listed can be bought for under $1000 total and others rented for very little cost. That does not mean they're sharing the wealth. That just means economies of scale and planned obsolescence works and makes things cheaper over time. Things you cannot import from China are still prohibitively high - education, healthcare, insurance etc. Giving people $300 gadgets does not make them wealthy. Even having a $99 iPhone with $40/mo data plan does not mean you are rich. It means you have $99 and can afford $40/mo. Anyone on minimum wage can theoretically do that.
I don't disagree with you that quality of life has improved due to technological progress for almost everyone but I would hardly define that as sharing the wealth. I would define sharing the wealth as not having to declare bankruptcy when your kid has cancer. Or not having to take whatever job is available in any field instead of your speciality just to pay rent because you cannot collect unemployment anymore. Or not being stuck living in a city you want to move away from but can't because the house you purchased has fallen in price through no fault of yours and will barely make 50% of your mortgage in rent. I don't see how adding a $300 TV or air conditioning to this mix would make one feel like they're sharing the wealth.
If you have a much better TV than somebody had 50 years ago, then in that one particular way you're wealthier than they are. Ditto similar advantages over them in recorded music, communication, gaming (if you play computer games) and so on.
As for not being able to pay for a cancer cure without going bankrupt -- if it's a cure that hadn't been invented 50 years ago, then again you're richer than or level with people from 50 years ago, not poorer.
But all that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a problem. If it takes two parents working rather than one to "get by", then the fact that one is "getting by" in more style than people used to may not be consolation. Even without such considerations, wealth doesn't automatically equate to happiness, and inequality in wealth generally tends to detract (except perhaps from the happiness of those best off).
>>>> Almost everything you listed can be bought for under $1000 total and others rented for very little cost. That does not mean they're sharing the wealth.
Of course it does. What would be the point of having $1000 if you can buy nothing for it? And if everything costed $0.0001, wouldn't somebody with $1000 be rich? Wealth is how much stuff you can buy (stuff meaning not only physical goods, of course, but other things you want too). If you can buy more stuff - you're more wealthy. If things got cheaper - you become more wealthy even if amount of money didn't change.
>>>> Anyone on minimum wage can theoretically do that.
Practically, they'd just get an Obamaphone "for free" (paid by taxpayers, of course), but that's besides the point.
>>>> but I would hardly define that as sharing the wealth.
That's because what you mean doesn't seem to be sharing the wealth, it seems to be envy. If you get a lot, but the neighbor gets more, you're envious - why he has more and you don't? Probably because he's not sharing! If you stop looking at Joneses and look at each person as he/she is, you'd see the wealth is being constantly shared.
>>>> I would define sharing the wealth as not having to declare bankruptcy when your kid has cancer.
This has nothing to do with sharing the wealth. This has everything to do with parents not having adequate insurance. That's what insurance is for.
>>>> I don't see how adding a $300 TV or air conditioning to this mix would make one feel like they're sharing the wealth.
What you mean by "sharing the wealth" is "I don't want anything bad happen to me and don't want to ever have money trouble or suffer consequences of either my poor foresight or unexpected circumstances, because there are people around who don't". Sorry, this has nothing to do with sharing the wealth, and the bad news are - nothing can do that for you. Shit happens, and nobody can be fully guaranteed from it. You can, however, be reasonably prepared and reasonably cautious - such as not buying a house on the peak of the bubble, but renting for 3-4 years and then buying when the bubble pops and Joneses have to sell because they can make barely 50% in rent. For each one of those there's one of those who rents for 50% of the mortgage. That's who you want to be, not the other guy :)
What your failing to take into account is there are plenty of finite resources people want. For example Land. As your relative share of total wealth decreases then your ability to buy land where you want it also decreases.
Land is much less useful resource than before, despite all claims to the contrary. You can become billionaire without ever owning a single slice of land - something that wasn't possible not so long time ago. I have hard time seeing how you need any land more that it takes to build a modest house. Of course, you may want a private island - but that's way beyond "sharing the wealth".
I don't disagree with you that quality of life has improved due to technological progress for almost everyone but I would hardly define that as sharing the wealth. I would define sharing the wealth as not having to declare bankruptcy when your kid has cancer. Or not having to take whatever job is available in any field instead of your speciality just to pay rent because you cannot collect unemployment anymore. Or not being stuck living in a city you want to move away from but can't because the house you purchased has fallen in price through no fault of yours and will barely make 50% of your mortgage in rent. I don't see how adding a $300 TV or air conditioning to this mix would make one feel like they're sharing the wealth.