In a commencement speech at the University of Delaware, the New York Times columnist (and, apparently, my moral superior) said this (emphasis mine):

“Oh, we had our moments to be proud of, but I’m afraid that we took many of those freedoms that our parents sacrificed to create for us, and we used them to go to excess,” Friedman said.

***

The notion that more is better came to be represented both literally and figuratively in the size of individual Americans and their homes, Friedman noted.

“From the beginning to the end of the long boom, the size of the average new house in America increased by half,” Friedman said. “Meanwhile, the average American gained about a pound a year, so that an adult of a given age is now at least 20 pounds heavier than someone that age back then.”

Then, presumably, he went home to his 11,000 square foot home on his 7.5 acre spread:

More at American Thinker, where Ed Lasky’s term for this photo is just priceless.