Jeff Caplan’s Minute of News: When exactly were the “good old days?”

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SALT LAKE CITY — Do you remember the good ol’ days? I sure do. I can name almost any pop song from the 1970s in one note. That is my superpower in this world.

One note. The 70s were the greatest decade. No? Well, it’s true, inflation hit 13%. The unemployment rate was like 8%. Vietnam. Protests. I get it. But it was the best decade because, in the 70s, I was 11 years old.

Researchers at YouGov asked 2,000 people what the best decade was for music, TV, work-life balance, politics, when families were the happiest. And there was no pattern. There is no greatest decade. However, when you look at the survey in a different way — by age of the respondents — on average, Americans think times were best when they were 11 years old.

Think back to when you were 11. When I was 11, American Pie was the song I loved, and ironically it was a goodbye to the good old days.

Jeff Caplan is the host of Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News on KSL NewsRadio. Follow him on Facebook and X. 

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