Fifty Year Ago Cost

That $6,000 1974 Buick would cost $21,647. It would still get 8 mpg to the new one's 27. It would not have air bags or child safety locks. It would need a tuneup every couple years to once at 100,000 miles for the new one.

That $30,000 1100 square foot house from 1974 would cost $106,976. Not good, a new better one the same size would cost about $90,000.

I am in an area where there is a countywide building code, licensing for contractors, and real inspections. My wife is in real estate and we see a lot of houses, inside and out.

The government sort of gets to say how much money it has without even bothering to print it. Great system, huh?

Plus, the car/house/tractor/television/stereo you are buying now is probably three or four (or a hundred) times better than the one you would have bought with that same inflation-adjusted money 20-30 years ago.

Deflation would create havoc in the banking system because everything that is security for a loan would become less valuable in dollars over time. If the value of a house goes below a certain ratio to the loan, the lender has to either demand payment of the "excess" loan amount or foreclose.

Deflation almost always happens because lots people are not working and are not making money. So there wouldn't be many buyers for the foreclosed property.

They had one of those guru's on TV here yesterday morning, trying to convince people because of low interest they can afford to pay more for their house. I've never been able to figure that one as a good reason to pay more for a house. Especially a house with one of those new low water volume toilets. Did you ever have one of those Bill? We have one and also one of the old type. If the new housing industry keeps using those, that little old outhouse is soon going to look attractive, once again.

Again the realator was real happy. She just got her 3rd new Caddy in 3 years.

I only hope I live long enough to see the likes of you handle deflation. Because you aint seen real deflation in your lifetime.

As far as toasters and the like. A good one cost about $30 or $40 in the 50's. That was a lot of cabbage for a house hold appliance. When you concider you were making $2 a hr. Thats 15 hrs of work for a toaster. You can still buy a great toaster for $200+ now I have seen them. But no one wants to spend 15 hrs of labor on one. Thats why you get the cheap $9 ones at walmart.
Now dont try to pin me on the actual cost of a toaster in the 50's as I am sure you know for sure what they did cost and I just made a educated guess to use as an example.

The point is it was no small feat to get a toaster or a washing machine. Those things were expencive and cost a great deal of money to obtain. I saw a old add for a fridge. it costed more in the 50's than they do today in real dollars.

What would make me happy though. I would like a new car with out all the extra electronic stuff added. Bare bones, Cant get one.

This Buick I have now, most of the time the GM computer can't even tell you what is wrong. Almost 1 year ago, GM computer said, crank sensor. I put on crank sensor, mass air flow sensor, coil, ignition module and finally a side road mechanic with his little hand held computer on it eraced it 3 times, each time it came back and said cam sensor. Put a cam sensor on the car and it has worked perfect since. Cost $1,000. plus 6 months of car quitting any old time and anywhere 6 to 8 times per week.

Now we can look at disposable income. I will take the 50s, 60s and 70s any day over what we have seen since. Yes some things may have cost more but damn few. I was married when I was 22, my wife never worked outside the home, and on an annual operating basis I was a heck of a lot better off back then than today. I bought leather work boots in the 50s for $2.50 and a lot more comfortable then what I bought last year for $150. Gas was $0.30 per gallon. Money went somewhere back then, because we weren't paying for all these government and corperate bureaucrats, sitting on their fannies doing absolutely nothing.

Not everything has got better. Tractors, obviously, have not. But - here are some other things.

Would you want to drive a 74 Buick that got 8 mpg? Would you want to be in a rollover accident with one? Would you want to t-bone a semi in one? I would not.

Would you want a new family house with one bathroom and 1100 square feet? I built them.

Would you want an eight-track tape stereo console?

Would you want a 1974 computer that cost four times as much as one you can buy now? The new one can do things sitting on your desk that took a supercomputer to do 30 years ago.

My dad used to haul a ton of feed home from the feed store in his 59 Impalla, fill the trunk and put the rest on the fins. Today you need a 3/4 ton pickup to haul that safely. As for your crappy new houses with their plastics, foams, glues, etc., I wouldn't spend overnight in one of them. I have 2200 square feet and I guess probably it was built before you were building those 1100 square foot toilets.

Pickup trucks have steadily gone down hill until you basically can haul nothing with them. I have a friend a traveling mechanic. Up until 1989 he bought a new Chevy 3/4 ton pickup every 3 years for travel and moving his tools. He tells me he actually hauls less weight today than 15 years ago yet he had to go to a 1 ton. Today they have those anti lock brakes that work great for the first year or the first road salt, which ever comes first. My 1978 Chevy 3/4 would stop in less distance from 60 mph to standing than anything I've seen since, and the difference is 10 to 15 feet.

No my friend, it used to be you could spend a few more dollars for quality, today Corperate America just releives you of a few more dollars. My wife has an electric can opener given to us as a wedding present 39 years ago, it still works A-1. One look on the back and it is made by Philips in the good old USA, not in some far flung bannana republic.

I had some of those big cars in the 70's and 80's; most would not stop in a straight line and they are all rusted out now.

We used to haul feed in a car, too. Some folks around here still do.

The truck dealers have degraded the 3/4 ton pickup from what it would haul 20 years ago, but again, that stopping in a straight line thing is a lot better in a newer truck.

I own houses ranging in age from the 50's to one a year old. The old ones don't hold up without continuous upkeep/updates. I think people forget about what they have done to their house since it was new. They wouldn't like their original house now.

If Corperate America keeps farming jobs offshore at the rate it has in the past 20 years, it will not be long until 1/3 of North America are without income. You best get ready for deflation. Personally I can't wait. The last time it truly happened, my dad bought land for a dollar per acre. Yes in 1938 my dad bought land in a tax sale, formerly owned by the big boys on Wall St. for $1.00 per acre. I'm ready, are you?

The logs were moved down river in the spring by river drives. Sawed into lumber on the coast and shipped by water to places like Boston, New York and Philadelphia. This entire operation created a lot of work in the 30s, for some people. It was definately not for the faint of heart.

This is precisely why Newfoundlanders and Maritimers know how to prosper in hard times. They know how to run a bare bones operation. My dad was 18 when the hammer came down in 1929. He went through the 30s never unemployed. He was able to buy a new flat head V8 Ford coup in 1935 and paid cash for it. He always said my brothers and I never knew the true thrill of the road buying our first cars in the 50s. Sound familiar.