Can we ever have an economy as strong and as prosperous as the post WWII boom?

[King]

Of course not, mainly because the post-war boom (interrupted in 1958 and in the early 1970s even before its end) was the anomaly, not the present.

There can still be major economic upswings, like the 1990s or 2002-2006, but the boom-bust cycle is back to stay.  

I think the boom-bust cycle is preventable, but only if we're willing to make sacrifice some of the boom to prevent the busts.  We'll never have that with the looming cloud of re-elections, of course.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Who is "we"? The wealthiest people in America (and the world, really) enjoy enormous benefits under the current, increasingly international system at everyone else's expense. Inequality and social stratification continue to grow, both between nations and within nations, locally and globally.

Meanwhile, a large number of people on the planet continue to live in dire poverty. I don't see many of them prospering under a "strong" American economy.

[tik 🪀✨]

To channel opebo for a moment: loot the rich, give to the poor, and create a culture that gives rewards and requires businesses to treat their employees with decency, not that deliver the lowest prices only. You will get a more powerful middle class that helps to drive the economy. Will prices go up? Likely not enough to outweigh the benefits.

Probably wouldn't be a boom like post-ww2, but the boom,bust cycle would be more bearable.