Cost of living today vs previous generations (companies, tax, save)

[formercalifornian]

Originally Posted by chirack

Personal experience the microwave is one heck of a time saver. My family lived with no microwave as a kid. I would not want to do it again. About the only downside to the microwave is it makes warming things up too easy(i.e. You might think twice about that late night snack if you have to break out a pot or a pan as well as the dish it is going into.).

Eh, I've had one. I can boil water and make popcorn just as fast on the stove.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by formercalifornian

Eh, I've had one. I can boil water and make popcorn just as fast on the stove.

And all the stuff stays hot.... I find stuff warmed up in it, cools down very fast.

We have a microwave -- hubby loves it. It's part of the range hood, and the timer on it is far easier to use than the stoves...

[Alter]

Originally Posted by Tightwad

An interesting read on this topic............

The “Cost of Living”; 1957 vs. 2007 « Mercyman53’s Weblog

And a way to see how the value ,i.e. buying power, of the dollar has changed.

Inflation Calculator - Value of a Dollar over Time

Not sure where this blogger got their housing prices from but I seriously doubt the median house price in 1957 was $2330.
According to U.S. census data it was $7354 in 1950 and $11,900 in 1960.
This chart will give you a comparison of the cost adjusted to 2000. While that was certainly before the peak of the bubble it offers an interesting comparison
Historical Census of Housing Tables - Home Values
Here is census data of the mean (average) income from 1947-2006 Historical Income Tables - Families

[Tightwad]

Originally Posted by Alter

Not sure where this blogger got their housing prices from but I seriously doubt the median house price in 1957 was $2330.
According to U.S. census data it was $7354 in 1950 and $11,900 in 1960.
This chart will give you a comparison of the cost adjusted to 2000. While that was certainly before the peak of the bubble it offers an interesting comparison
Historical Census of Housing Tables - Home Values
Here is census data of the mean (average) income from 1947-2006 Historical Income Tables - Families

It was very possible to buy a home for $2330 back then in some areas of America. Very possible. One has to consider that back then $40,000 bought you one heck of a fancy house.

[Bluesbabe]

Think of all the money people pay just for communications ~ Cell phones (always more than one per household), maybe a lan-line, internet, cable TV, etc. . . Technology is damn expensive!

Also, in years past people were able to do repair and maintenance on their own cars.

People now need homes as big as barns, even for only two people. That is, those who can afford them. (Otherwise, it's crackerjack-box sized condos.)

Government fees for everything, and more, and increasing taxes in all forms.

[Ivorytickler]

Originally Posted by Bluesbabe

Think of all the money people pay just for communications ~ Cell phones (always more than one per household), maybe a lan-line, internet, cable TV, etc. . . Technology is damn expensive!

Also, in years past people were able to do repair and maintenance on their own cars.

People now need homes as big as barns, even for only two people. That is, those who can afford them. (Otherwise, it's crackerjack-box sized condos.)

Government fees for everything, and more, and increasing taxes in all forms.

Cell phones, cable and internet in addition to a land line cost my family as much as a car payment. Sometimes I miss the days when you had to get up to change the channel on your TV, you had 5 choices for channels and you could only go as far as you could stretch the chord while talking on the phone. Of course I'd go into internet withdrawel

Cars are another issue. You're right. In the past you could work on your car yourself. Now there are so many electronics it takes a computer to diagnose what's wrong and all those gadgets on the car are just more things to go wrong. I've had to repair the power locks, the power seats and the power sliding doors on my van and none of those repairs were cheap. Crank window and locks you unlock with a key sound good about now.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by Tightwad

It was very possible to buy a home for $2330 back then in some areas of America. Very possible. One has to consider that back then $40,000 bought you one heck of a fancy house.

Its very possible to purchase a home today for $2,000, just look in the mid-west.

Regardless the price of homes over the last 100 years (there is fairly good data on this, see Robert Shiller) have appreciated just a bit over inflation. There has been no significant change on this end of matters.

Of course that won't stop people from whining.

[jazzlover]

My answers in red:

Originally Posted by Randomdude

50 years ago, a high school grad could enter the workforce in the middle class. Only the poorest of educated were in the bottom rungs of the workforce. Now, it is not uncommon at all to see college grads populating the bottom quintiles, and people without college have little to no chance of making any money unless they own their own business or are career military.

Fifty years ago, a high school education actually meant something. Most college students today can't pass an 8th grade grammar and spelling test from that era. Nor can many of them do simple math--like balancing a checkbook, that high school grads back then were expected to know how to do.

50 years ago, the average mid 20 year old wasnt carrying over 10k of student debt.

50 years ago, kids starting working summer jobs in their early teens to start saving money for college. Fewer kids went to college then--many who did were the brightest and smartest and got scholarships. Parents also saved and sacrificed in order to send their children to college, instead of relying on student loans.

50 years ago, you didnt have to live 40 miles out of the city to find a safe and/or affordable place to live.

50 years of stupid sprawl, the slaughtering of safe and convenient mass transit, and the attendant destruction of local urban neighborhoods, plus people's greed for bigger houses in sprawled subdivisions led to this. Now we can no longer afford that, and we are trapped as a country with a living arrangement that is no longer sustainable. Bad.

50 years ago, households didnt need 2 working adults at or near median wage to cover basic costs.

50 years ago, "basic" costs did not include multiple telephones (land line and cellular), multiple televisions and cable or satellite channels, an automobile for every person in the household over 16 years old, a bedroom for every kid, eating out half the days of the week, multiple recreational toys (bikes, boats, skis, motorcycles, etc.), etc., etc. The definition of "basic" and "necessity" have broadened--enough that Mom now has to work--and pay for day care.

50 years ago, a car could be taken apart and put back together without requiring high tech computers and gizmos.

50 years ago, there weren't enough cars to cause major pollution problems, except in a few metro areas. People weren't driving them the number of miles per year they do now, either. So, lower tech was OK. No more.

50 years ago, jobs werent being exported wholesale. The technology wasnt there to support it.

50 years ago, American labor was productive and labor costs were competitive with other countries. Today, America is losing the productivity race and has higher overall labor costs to boot. No wonder the jobs are leaving.

A whole lot has changed in 50 years.....

I agree that a whole lot has changed. The biggest change that people do not want to admit is that there is now nearly double the population in the US and more than double the population worldwide comapred to 50 years ago competing for diminishing and increasingly non-renewable natural resources. In the US's case, we went from a moderate population with abundant resources to what may be overpopulated for the living standard we expect to have--all while we have squandered many of our domestic natural resources. That right there portends a continued and ever steeper decline in American material living standards. Simply stated, we have overspent, over-bred (and allowed far too much immigration--legal and illegal), and wasted our way into second class status and poverty.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by Randomdude

50 years ago, a high school grad could enter the workforce in the middle class. Only the poorest of educated were in the bottom rungs of the workforce. Now, it is not uncommon at all to see college grads populating the bottom quintiles, and people without college have little to no chance of making any money unless they own their own business or are career military.

50 years ago, the GINI index was much closer to that of the rest of the post industrial world. Now its on the level of a third world country.

50 years ago, the average mid 20 year old wasnt carrying over 10k of student debt.

50 years ago, you didnt have to live 40 miles out of the city to find a safe and/or affordable place to live.

50 years ago, households didnt need 2 working adults at or near median wage to cover basic costs.

50 years ago, a car could be taken apart and put back together without requiring high tech computers and gizmos.

50 years ago, jobs werent being exported wholesale. The technology wasnt there to support it.

A whole lot has changed in 50 years.....

I'm sorry but that student debt thing cheeses me. You can work full time and go to school part time to get your degree and you can go to a school you can afford to pay for yourself. And there are plenty of single people doing just fine covering basic costs on one income. How about this one - tell some of those lazy teenagers to get out and get a job and contribute. Now we have illegal aliens doing the jobs teenagers won't do.

[Alter]

Originally Posted by Tightwad

It was very possible to buy a home for $2330 back then in some areas of America. Very possible. One has to consider that back then $40,000 bought you one heck of a fancy house.

Just because something is possible does not mean it is the norm. Ten years ago I lived across the street from a home that had been purchased at a HUD sale for $1. I was living in a house I'd just bought for under $15,000. Possible but not average.