[zeaal]

I pulled out my first pay stub (it's in a HS memory book). May 4, 1978. 37.25 hours at 2.35 per hour. Total 87.53. I was RICH! According to the table, that 37.25 hours translates to 242.13 to 2000 dollars. Doggone, I was rich.

[Red Jones]

the only reason I posted this is because the other day I casually mentioned that 'the minimum wage in 1965 was higher than today's mini wage after inflation'. And people said I was crazy. Inflation really pulls the wool over people's eyes and hides a lot doesn't it.

Also, people are very ignorant about unemployment rates. We've had historically high unemployment rates ever since 1970. The unemployment rate today is about 3 times what it was exactly 40 years ago. If you look at a chart of unemployment rates that goes back to 1870 and merely exclude 1930-1945, then you see that unemployment has been very elevated on historical standards since 1970.

As a nation we've imposed cost after cost after cost onto the economy that makes it difficult for us to live and we are ignorant of what we've done. Also, we've become very cold hearted towards the poor. It used to be that if a fellow needed a job, then somebody would make one for that fellow. Not any more.

Some people think that government social programs take care of things. Those programs are dysfunctional. And increasingly the private sector economy is dysfunctional. We've lost 2 million private sector jobs in 2 years and I've actually heard people say that this is normal.