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Gas in my area last month was $.99-$1.25 a gallon (I just filled up this past Tuesday for $2.09 a gallon and got $.50 off that due to my Kroger discount)
We have homes in my area that go for less than $10k (still recovering from housing crash)
I doubt a F150 or Chevy Silverado was $9000 brand new in 2000....Those are pretty expensive trucks, maybe $20,000-$25,000 but not $9,000.
ETA: in regards to manual labor jobs, it depends on what jobs. My spouse actually stopped working in a professional office a few years ago and decided this past year to take a production/manual labor job just to see what it was like. He started at $12 an hour, which is pretty good around here for a starting wage. He stayed at that job less than a year and by the time he left he was making $17 an hour, which is a very good wage around here and you could live comfortably (he worked the job to save money to start his own business, which is what he now does). He told me how people around here like to complain about there being no "good paying jobs" or "no jobs" at all and yet he went to a temp agency on a Tuesday and was working by a Wednesday. He said it was a very tough job physically and nearly ever young guy that came into the outfit quit the first day because they had to constantly move and pick stuff up. He was also tired but enjoyed having a job where he could move around (he used to work in the legal field and had a desk job for 15 years). After a month his body got used to it. The company hired him on full time (bought him out from the temp agency) within 3 months and he got the $5 raise due to that. That company gives really good raises and is a union job.
So it depends on where people live and what sort of job the individual is looking for. Where I live, it is common for people to make complaints like you are making, yet many times, those complaining about wages especially are just lazy people who will not work a hard, physically demanding job, not even for a good wage. They would rather work an easier, low wage job and complain about them not having any opportunities for more.
Unfortunately, union jobs don't grow on trees. Many don't have the good fortune of giving such generous raises in such a short time.
Those $6 fast food salads were like $3.50 in 2000 though.
But things like laptops really haven't increased in price at all over the past 16 years. I think the one I bought in 2002 was about $400, and you could still get one for about $400 today. I don't think clothing has increased much in price either. I know there are a bunch more specialty food products out there today than in 2000, which tend to be more expensive, so people are probably spending a disproportionate amount of money on grilled arugula with a touch of basil in an Asian cuisine-inspired smoky bacon barbecue sauce than a McDonald's Value Meal in the late 1990s or something.
You bring up a good point. Overall, technology should be making life easier and cheaper for us. It hasn't.
$50,000 home, is now over $200,000 for the same footprint and amenities.
$9000 p/u truck, is now $36,000
The only thing that has not increased.... Income for manual labor.
Yet we are constantly being told that illegal aliens are keeping many of these prices down. Also, they are the reason that income for manual labor has not increased but actually decreased.
Yet we are constantly being told that illegal aliens are keeping many of these prices down. Also, they are the reason that income for manual labor has not increased but actually decreased.
We have also pointer out how inaccurate all his prices are, so I wouldn't use them as a benchmark for illegals.
The cr@p that sold for $1.50 back in 2000 is probably $3 now. I wouldn't know. The nice Mideastern restaurant next to us that is actually cheaper to eat at than McPukey (at least before tips) is probably 30-40% more now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BentBow
.99¢ gallon of gas we just saw $4 a gallon
.99 /gallon was in the 1990s, coming out of a major slump in oil prices that killed the USSR. When I bought my first SUV a '01 Chevy Tahoe in Nov 2000, the gas was already around $1.85 or so. It's $2.50 now, and was around $2.25 for most of the past year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BentBow
$50,000 home, is now over $200,000 for the same footprint and amenities.
Totally depends on the area you're in. In the Midwest, the homes now are at about 20% increase over their values in the late 90s. That's if you're lucky. In the few superhot markets fueled by the startup growth, yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BentBow
$9000 p/u truck, is now $36,000
Where did you see a $9000 p/u truck in 2000 ? My mid-trim Tahoe with few options was $30,000. Now it's probably $45,000, although it is a much nicer more upscale truck today. The 2001 Silverado MSRP was starting around $26,000. The 2015 model MSRP starts at $27000. It's almos the same price (although almost nobody buys the basic mode anymore so they get you on extras). The cheapest truck they sold back then was S10 regular cab with MSRP of about $14,000. They don't even have these small trucks anymore. The mid-size Colorado MSRP starts at $20,100 although most people likely would prefer a crew cab version.
Other than the dollar getting cheaper, there are also other reasons for inflation. The Chinese can no longer continue working 14 hrs a day for a rice bowl, the worker salaries in hot manufacturing areas are now higher than even in e.g. Russia. The cost of medical services and drugs is through the roof - a lot of this has to do with pure greed and fraud - and this is reflected in the price of goods. There was a recession and everyone now is trying to make up for it the best they can.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BentBow
The only thing that has not increased.... Income for manual labor.
Thank your friendly politicians for the open border and free trade policies. And it's going to get worse with automation revolution.
Plus a lot of big cities the price of home are closer to $600,000 now like in Miami, LA, New York or San Francisco .
Probably in 50 years from now homes will be closer to $900,000 or more.
If you want the cost to go down they will have to lower wages. Every time wages go up the cost of living goes up.
I gave your post reputation, but I disagree with the last sentence.
Has little to do with wages. Has everything to do with free money/low interest rates.
The Fed is broken. Yellen looks like a scared pigeon, too afraid to do what needs to be done.
We're in for some hard times in this country if action isn't taken soon. Take my word for it though, it won't happen. The Fed is reactionary. They have been since the Reagan/Greenspan years.
We just had a dismal jobs report and the Case-Schiller housing index is the highest it has been since the bubble. There have only been a few times in history where asset inflation and wage stagnation/loss have happened simultaneously. Hint: Right before major recessions. Time to batton down the hatches.
I gave your post reputation, but I disagree with the last sentence.
Has little to do with wages. Has everything to do with free money/low interest rates.
The Fed is broken. Yellen looks like a scared pigeon, too afraid to do what needs to be done.
We're in for some hard times in this country if action isn't taken soon. Take my word for it though, it won't happen. The Fed is reactionary. They have been since the Reagan/Greenspan years.
We just had a dismal jobs report and the Case-Schiller housing index is the highest it has been since the bubble. There have only been a few times in history where asset inflation and wage stagnation/loss have happened simultaneously. Hint: Right before major recessions. Time to batton down the hatches.
Correct!
A flake of gold, still buys the same amount of goods and supplies, it did 100 years ago.
Tax office property appraisals, rise every year. Making property more expensive to buy and maintain, in order to increase revenues at the tax offices. Because more of other people money is easy to get, when they hold all the power to do at will, to oppress other people if they don't.....
To the guy that repped me and then left a nasty remark and bragged about making 5x what they did 16 years ago.
Me too, but the cost of living has risen 4x's +, so, we may be ahead, but not to the extent they have you fooled into believing. Fools can be fooled.
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