Education, healthcare, healthy food, safety, and housing: those are the basic goods governments should strive to provide for all citizens. Plus some type of safety net, carefully designed to avoid dependency/work avoidance.
I don't think people have a right to ever escalating status markers or to feel they're doing better than their parents. Nor do I think it's a great idea for governments to aim for ever greater consumption levels of its populace (past a certain level, of course). For one thing, that would be rotten for the planet and the climate.
Of course, the devil’s in the details. Here are my (currently) favorite approaches:
Education: provide 6-year post-secondary education/training stipend for all, no age limit, can be off-and-on, about $900/month, in lieu of federal grants.
Healthcare: combo private and public system, with community clinics and public hospitals for those who don't get insurance.
Healthy Food and Safety: pretty much continue on the current path - shout out to BigAg and GMOs!
Housing: market approach that encourages development of low-cost housing, i.e., focus more on the supply side. Don't push home ownership so much - it discourages geographical mobility (needed for robust economies - workers need to feel free to move to where the best jobs are).