Absolutely not. Cost of living increases and the like. Consider, back then single income households were the norm because you could absolutely afford a house, car in the driveway, and raise a couple kids on a single blue collar income. Hell, in the late 90s you could make rent on a studio apartment in a single weekend delivering pizza if tips were decent.
I couldn't agree more. One is a number on your pay stub the other is a measure of what that actually means. In 1998 I could do more on the $8hr I was earning at the time than you could earning 3 times as much today.