I remember 1967 very well, and the average America family was much better off economically then than now. These flim-flam "statistics" they throw at us today are just a lot of smoke and mirrors. How's this for a real statistic? In 1967 my parents could afford to buy a nice home in a middle class neighborhood in a desirable suburb, and there were six children and only one job, (my father's). And his job was a menial laborer's job. Furthermore, mothers back then could stay home and raise their children without the necessity of going to work to help pay the mortgage and put food on the table. The rule-of-thumb back then with banks was that the mortgage, (and rents), should be roughly 1/4th of your monthly salary. Accept for the upper middle class today, and the wealthy, I cannot imagine a family paying only one quarter of their income for their mortgage.
There are other important factors too. College education being a big one. In 1967 I think that state colleges cost about $500. per year to attend, maybe less. Books were a dime a dozen. Today, college is prohibitively expensive for most people, even state collegtes. Gasoline was dirt cheap, about 33 cents a gallon. A movie theatre ticket was 75 cents and the consession snacks and drinks were 10 cents. Public transportation was a nickle. A slice of pizza was a dime. Stamps were 5 cents. Candy bars were 5 cents and were twice the size of today's version. Jobs were static and secure, with no need for about two or three career changes as in today's economy. Prices were stable too, and when costs rose they were always minimal. A "usable" used car, (one that still had a dependable year left on it), could be bought for $100.00, or less. Utilities were dirt cheap, and I mean dirt cheap. Restaurants did not tax your meals, state sales taxes had not yet been introduced in my state, (which meant you got to keep at least 5 - 8% more of your income then). There were no federal "line charges" on your telephones, auto inspection stickers were $1.00,; you could enjoy a major league baseball game in the bleacher (cheap) seats for 50 cents; and on and on it goes. In other words, no matter how small your paycheck may have been, you got to keep most of it and you could stretch it out quite far.
Unless you consider electronic gadgets to be the "economy", it is laughable to claim that today's economy is better than it was in 1967.
By looking at the productivity levels listed above it seems Americans are busting their buts significantly harder today in order to achieve a certain standard of living.
I do not think things were quite that cheap in 67 but I take your point.
Well, homes were obviously cheaper then because there were fewer people inhabiting the same amount of land. yet I'm going to guess that this was not a 7-bedroom house, since the average house in 1967 was a little more than two-thirds the size of the average in 2006.
The rule-of-thumb back then with banks was that the mortgage, (and rents), should be roughly 1/4th of your monthly salary. Accept for the upper middle class today, and the wealthy, I cannot imagine a family paying only one quarter of their income for their mortgage.
Well given that the median household income is 44K and the median home price is 219K a monthly mortgage payment is 1000 and a week's salary is 660. However, you are getting almost 50% more house for almost 50% more in mortgage payments.
There are other important factors too. College education being a big one. In 1967 I think that state colleges cost about $500. per year to attend, maybe less.
Depends which state. Inflation-adjusted that's about 3000 in 2006 dollars.
Of course, state colleges back then did not have incredibly expensive sports facilities designed for television broadcasts, nor did they have extensive electronic infrastructure for starters. These things cost quite a bit of money.
Gasoline was dirt cheap, about 33 cents a gallon. A movie theatre ticket was 75 cents and the consession snacks and drinks were 10 cents. Public transportation was a nickle. A slice of pizza was a dime. Stamps were 5 cents. Candy bars were 5 cents and were twice the size of today's version.
If gas was 33 cents then, in inflation adjusted dollars that's 1.94. Gas is 1.99 right now where I live.
75 cents for a movie would 4.50 today while the average movie is 8 dollars now. However, today's movies cost much more to produce with ultra-realistic sets and advanced special effects. Plus they are exhibited in surround sound. One may argue that the artistic quality has declined, but the production quality has increased dramatically.
Drinks may have been 10 cents, or a cent an ounce for Coke in the old-style glass bottles. Inflation adjusted, that's 6 cents an ounce and thus a 48oz Coke for 5 dollars at a movie today is only slightly more expensive.
Public transportation is much more expensive now, but so are a lot of other external costs associated with operating public trasportation including lawsuits, union contracts, etc.
Pizza is more expensive on an inflation adjusted basis, but it also is more likely to have fresh ingredients that people demand.
Stam,ps are the same adjusted for inflation and they are now non-lick adhesive.
Candy bars weren't twice the size then that they are today. They are larger today and are slightly more expensive on an inflation adjusted basis.
Books were a dime a dozen
Newly printed books haven't been a dime a dozen since the 1890s.
I own a number of trade paperbacks from the 1960s and they were between 75c and a dollar. That translates to about $5-6 adjusted today, which is what I would expect to pay for a trade paperback.
Jobs were static and secure, with no need for about two or three career changes as in today's economy.
Life doesn't come with guarantees. A guaranteed lifetime job for a working-class guy was an historical anomaly of the 1950s-1970s, never before seen in American history and probably never to be seen again.
Prices were stable too, and when costs rose they were always minimal.
Very vague. Prices for 95% of staples are quite stable today. I've never gone to a store to discover that a loaf of bread cost four times as much than it did the month before.
A "usable" used car, (one that still had a dependable year left on it), could be bought for $100.00, or less.
That's $600 bucks today and you can buy a beat-up old Camry with a year left in it for that much if you search online.
Utilities were dirt cheap, and I mean dirt cheap.
Again, vague and disputable.
Restaurants did not tax your meals, state sales taxes had not yet been introduced in my state, (which meant you got to keep at least 5 - 8% more of your income then). There were no federal "line charges" on your telephones, auto inspection stickers were $1.00,;
That's all arbitrary government-imposed cost which is not a natural part of the economy. There were always federal taxes on phone lines.
There have been since the 1950s.
you could enjoy a major league baseball game in the bleacher (cheap) seats for 50 cents
Or three dollars in today's money as opposed to 12 for nosebleed seats today. Of course, salaries have far outstripped inflation as team management has bid on talent.
Not really a natural outgrowth of the economy, either.
Unless you consider electronic gadgets to be the "economy", it is laughable to claim that today's economy is better than it was in 1967.
If someone today wanted to spend their time living in a tiny house subsisting on pizza and candybars and reading trade paperbacks as their sole form of entertainment, you'd have a strong point.
But the average person today lives in a larger house, spends their leisure time surfing the internet, listening to a possible selection of 20,000 songs on their portable iPod, going on occasional vacations in the Caribbean or Hawaii, driving a car with airconditioning and anti-lock brakes, etc.
In other words enjoying a wide range of amenities that were the province of the wealthy in 1967 or indeed unimaginable to the rich or poor in 1967.
I take it you live on one of the coasts. Assuming you mean one-quarter of gross income, it's VERY possible here in Ohio, right now, in 2006.
Absolutely right about college. I entered the University of Missouri, Columbia in 1969 and think the annual tuition was about $700. Ten times that today would be $7,000, but most in-state tuition seems to start at about twice that. College education inflation has far outstripped general inflation rates.
I remember 1967 very well too. We had a machine gun nest in front of our house and a tank on the corner.
President Johnson ordered the Army into Detroit to stop a riot that burned 25 square miles of Detroit to the ground.
I think things are better now...