I am 74 and feel as if I live on a different planet than I was born on even though I can drive from here to the place of my birth in an hour. When I was a child whole families survived for a year on what it takes to rent a SMALL house for one MONTH now. A neighbor rented out a farmhouse for a whole year for $120 in ‘52 and that is not even a decent eight hours pay now in this area and you couldn’t make it on that much per hour in some places. If social security had been adjusted according to REAL inflation figures the average recipient would be getting at least two or three times what they get now and the system would be belly up. What used to be an unimaginable income is now poverty. A person can go through what used to be the price of two dozen new houses to pay for college, come out with a degree and not be able to pass my eighth grade finals.
I’ll do you one better. I had to fly into a southern city (I won’t say which one)....late at night....need a rental car. I went and there was one single place open and the manager was the last person there. Young lady, probably 22, dressed as you’d expect for a manager. We got to talking while waiting for the print-out. She is a college graduate (3 months out of college), and this was the only job she could get. Full-up 4-year degree....for a car rental shop at a small airport. In the 1970s....it would have been some 50-year old guy, high school diploma.
I asked about pay, this being a car rental manager job. It was basically $24k a year. Her problem was that she owed around $40k in student loans and really needed to start paying this off. I didn’t say anything but this was a lousy excuse for someone having a degree. It used to be that a degree meant something. Now? I’m like you....it’s a big question mark on value.
Ya, but how much did they make?
I remember my first military paycheck for the MONTH was $52.
Now, an Airman Basic (E1) gets $1,638 a month.
HHHUUGGGEE difference in pay from 60+ years ago for almost everyone.