Bullshit

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-goklany11-2008aug11,0,1107249.story

In 1960 the price of gasoline was around 25 cents a gallon and minimum wage was about 1.00 an hour. A car cost about $2000. My parents paid 10K for their home.

The article says gas is only 35% more expensive today than in 1960. The writer discounts 35% as significant. But thirty-five percent is a lot of difference, and it sure as hell isnt more affordable than in 1960 when it costs 35% more.

 

[jomar]

It is bullshit. They're fucking with numbers and we all know how that game goes.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I paid 25 cents a gallon in 1968 during a gas war. Beer was 25 cents a quart for cheap stuff (Hi Brau) too. Pot was $25 an ounce. A McDonald's burger cost 19 cents, I think. I was too high to remember now.

You could drive from Chicago to California on about $80 if you slept in your van. Motel 6's actually cost $6.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I remember driving to the suburb to the Purple Martin station and paying 15 cents a gallon. In the city it was 25 cents. I only had to travel a mile but it was worth it. It cost me $2.85 to fill my tank...19 gallons. Problem was I had to fill my tank every day...the car I drove only got 4 miles to the gallon.

So let's see 19 gallon tank X $3.94 = $74.86

74.86 / 2.85 = 26.666 times the cost of gas in the 60's.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

DOC, ZEB

Yep I remember a date in 1967 costing me $6. Two bucks for gas (8 gallons), one buck for the movie-one buck for Coke & popcorn, and 2 bucks for burger baskets afterwards. if I took my date to the best steakhouse in town it was like $15-$20.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

I don't think it's just the precentage or amount of the increases that gets folks so riled up, but how fast the increases occure. A quick spike in gas or heating oil prices can be a budget wrecker.

Rumple Foreskin

eta: JB, that AV is you, in a metaphysical, post-modernist sort of way, whatever that means. rf

 

[trysail]

Please accept my apologies for the poor formatting (below). Regretfully, Lit doesn't preserve Excel formats when one cuts and pastes (and I'm not about to take the time to re-do the whole thing). In a nutshell, $0.25 in 1960 would be worth about $1.83 today.

If you think that's bad, you ought to take a look at what education inflation has been. Tuitions have increased at twice the rate of the CPI. FOUR YEARS at Yale, Williams, Amherst, Union, Weslayan, Trinity, Princeton, Hamilton or Harvard cost ~$10,000. in 1970; today it'll run you ~$200,000.

Inflation, as measured by the CPI:

$1.00 in 1925 equals $12.01 today.
$1.00 in 1927 ' $12.19 '
$1.00 in 1928 ' $12.45 '
" 1929 ' $12.57 '
" 1930 ' $12.55 '
$1.00 in 1931 ' $13.35 '
" 1934 ' $16.37 '
" 1935 ' $16.04 '
$1.00 in 1936 ' $15.58 '
" 1937 ' $15.39 '
" 1938 ' $14.93 '
$1.00 in 1939 equals $15.36 today
" 1940 ' $15.43 '
" 1941 ' $15.28 '
$1.00 in 1942 ' $13.93 '
" 1943 ' $12.75 '
" 1944 ' $12.35 '
$1.00 in 1945 ' $12.10 '
" 1946 ' $11.83 '
" 1947 ' $10.01 '
$1.00 in 1948 ' $9.19 '
" 1949 equals $8.94 today
" 1950 ' $9.11 '
$1.00 in 1951 ' $8.61 '
" 1952 ' $8.13 '
" 1953 ' $8.06 '
$1.00 in 1954 ' $8.01 '
" 1955 ' $8.05 '
" 1956 ' $8.02 '
" 1957 ' $7.80 '
" 1958 ' $7.57 '
$1.00 in 1959 equals $7.44 today
" 1960 ' $7.33 '
" 1961 ' $7.22 '
" 1962 ' $7.17 '
$1.00 in 1963 ' $7.09 '
" 1964 ' $6.97 '
" 1965 ' $6.89 '
$1.00 in 1966 ' $6.76 '
" 1967 ' $6.54 '
" 1968 ' $6.35 '
$1.00 in 1969 equals $6.06 today
" 1970 ' $5.71 '
" 1971 ' $5.42 '
$1.00 in 1972 ' $5.24 '
" 1973 ' $5.07 '
" 1974 ' $4.66 '
$1.00 in 1975 ' $4.15 '
" 1976 ' $3.88 '
" 1977 ' $3.70 '
" 1978 ' $3.47 '
$1.00 in 1979 equals $3.18 today
" 1980 ' $2.81 '
" 1981 ' $2.50 '
" 1982 ' $2.29 '
" 1983 ' $2.21 '
" 1984 ' $2.13 '
" 1985 ' $2.04 '
" 1986 ' $1.97 '
" 1987 ' $1.95 '
" 1988 ' $1.87 '
$1.00 in 1989 equals $1.79 today
" 1990 ' $1.71 '
" 1991 ' $1.61 '
" 1992 ' $1.56 '
" 1993 ' $1.52 '
" 1994 ' $1.48 '
" 1995 ' $1.44 '
" 1996 ' $1.40 '
" 1997 ' $1.36 '
" 1998 ' $1.34 '
$1.00 in 1999 equals $1.31 today
" 2000 ' $1.28 '
" 2001 ' $1.24 '
" 2002 ' $1.22 '
" 2003 ' $1.19 '
" 2004 ' $1.17 '
" 2005 ' $1.13 '
" 2006 ' $1.10 '
" 2007 ' $1.07 '
" 2008 ' $1.03 '