Posted on 07/14/2022 11:34:44 AM PDT by Red Badger
In Wednesday's release of Consumer Price Index data June showing prices jumping 1.3 percent from May to June and 9.1 percent in the last 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that inflation has not been as red-hot since November of 1981.
To add some context to the four decade-high that inflation has hit, Townhall took a trip down memory lane and a look into the 1981 almanac to see what was going on the last time prices were as out of control as they are today. Here's what we found.
In 1981, the federal minimum wage was $3.35 per hour and the average national income was $10,495. The best-selling car was the Oldsmobile Cutlass and songs like "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie and "9 To 5" by Dolly Parton were topping Billboard charts. Superman II was the top-grossing movie, and Americans put Dallas, The Jeffersons, and Three's Company at the top of the TV ratings.
IBM's First Personal Computer Is Released
The first PC from IBM was rolled out on August 12,1981 with an introductory price tag of $1,565 and came with 16 kilobytes of RAM and a port to allow the attachment of a cassette tape recorder.
Ronald Reagan Shot in Assassination Attempt
On March 30, 1981, Ronald Reagan is shot while departing the Washington Hilton.
Raiders of the Lost Ark Premiers
The first Indiana Jones film directed by Steven Spielberg hits theaters on June 12.
The First Space Shuttle Mission Launches
The first Space Shuttle mission launches when STS-1 flown by Columbia takes flight on April 12, returning two days later on April 14.
The Band Metallica is Formed
James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich team up to create Metallica in Los Angeles in October 1981.
Sandra Day O'Connor Nominated to the Supreme Court
President Ronald Reagan announces his nomination of O'Connor — the first woman on the highest court in the land — on July 7.
The Mario Franchise is Launched by Nintendo
Recommended The States Doing the Worst Post-Pandemic All Have One Thing in Common Matt Vespa On July 9, Mario is debuted by Nintendo in the first release of Donkey Kong.
MTV Debuts
On August 1, 1981, MTV launches at 12:01 a.m. with Warner Cable's John Lack declaring "Ladies and gentlemen, rock 'n' roll."
If you're feeling nostalgic (or confused by what a cassette tape is) then you get the idea of how long it's been since inflation was running near double-digit levels and seemingly out of control. Joe Biden was a sprightly 39-years-old then, so he should remember how much pain Americans felt until the Reagan administration took the reins of government and put the country back on the right track while reigniting patriotism and defeating the hostile Soviet Union in the Cold War.
it is still fresh in my memory.
Me saying “If I could just make $5 an hour, I’d have it made.”
you were making big bucks back then. My Dad made that an hour and he was in his 50’s.
I listened to Casey Kasem all the time. That was the go to back them Radio. Always looked forward to his to 40 count down every week. I think it was son Sunday afternoon.
I believe I made $2.75 an hour back then. That was the minimum wage.
Rush Limbaugh was only 7 years away from starting to make enough money to eventually buy his mother a can opener so that she could eat her cat food.
My wife and I bought our first house in mid 1979 (bought the house in July ‘79 and married in December ‘79) and we scoured the mortgage markets for the best rate and finally found a 30-year mortgage at 9% and we felt lucky. I was making about $30K a year and she was making about $12K...we thought we had the world by the tail. Little did we know...
I know we had a lot of problems then but I still miss those days when I was a teen. At least we had cool cars, cool TV shows, cool music, ghetto blasters (boom boxes), cool movies, etc. One of my dream cars is a 1980-82 Ford T-Bird with a digital dashboard.
OK, who is better, Atari or Intellivision?
Those are my favorite cars, I love the cars from the “Malaise Era” the best. I still think that model of the T-Bird was the coolest.
Forgot the Pope getting shot. I was cutting school playing video games at a friends house when that news came over the wire.
Reagan and Volker knew what to do.
Amen.
Now, we get the globalist commies, at the fake helm. :-(
I know we had a lot of problems then but I still miss those days when I was a teen....
At least there weren’t hordes of illegals flooding the country, daily, back then....people who committed crimes were actually punished.....crazy people were in facilities, and, not on the street....gays were still in the closet, and, perverts weren’t tolerated...teachers were NOT predominantly commies...just a few things that may have made those problems, back then, not near as bad as today’s.
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