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Reagan was warming up for the presidency in his second term as CA governor in '71.[0]

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governorship_of_Ronald_Reagan

That doesnt explains why its hard to find buildings built newer than 1971 in rural oregon, Oklahoma, or other places.

Maybe more like 1973 : the first energy crisis.

I've pondered that, but why did the energy shock kill everything?

Prices came down, even with stagflation, things got better.

Which is the year Bretton Woods ended, and productivity gains began to be captured by speculators instead of being shared with workers.

In STEM we've seen huge stagnations in frontier research, breakthrough physics, and academic originality. And the arts are hardly in a healthier state.

Financially we're in a 30s-style depression but the media are being careful not to call it out as such.

Clearly this is Not Working.

An economy that privileges a few hundred billionaires at the expense of everyone else is not prosperous, stable, secure, or capable of real invention.