In article ,
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

Few years ago I was in a mall and they had a display of vintage Corvettes.
One had the original price list that was about $4200. I thought to myself,
"why didn't I have one back then as they were fairly cheap?" Then I did
some simple math and realized back they it was about a year's wages..

Right. They were for those with disposable income then as they are
today. Many of these cars were the second car in a family. Quite common
today to have at least two cars (two are practically expected!) but in
'65 not so much - evidence of spare cash for those who did have the
Corvettes and Jags.

Also consider how many toys and additional expenses we have today that
we "just couldn't live without" compared to 40 years ago: the
aforementioned 2 cars in the family; cable TV; cell phones; computers;
internet access; and expensive convenience foods (above and beyond the
Swanson TV dinners) just to name a few.

Take a look at our shop tools compared with what our fathers had! My dad
was a chemical engineer and made a middle class living but I remember
him asking for a Stanley #7 for Christmas in the very early '70s to work
on the woodwork for the house he was building us. Today most of us would
go out and buy our own as the need arises. He had a used 4" jointer, a
used radical alarm saw, a router and a belt sander. Everything else was
done by hand or he sought out a local mill to do bulk surfacing. He
would be amazed at the upper-end shop tools I have out there.

In other words, yes things cost more than they did in the good old days
but perhaps it's in part an indicator of how much extra cash (whether
in-hand or available through borrowing) is floating around - i.e. charge
what the market will bear. This is especially evident with the housing
"bubble".
--
Owen Lowe
The Fly-by-Night Copper Company
__________

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
Corporate States of America and to the
Republicans for which it stands, one nation,
under debt, easily divisible, with liberty
and justice for oil."
- Wiley Miller, Non Sequitur, 1/24/05