While I agree with most of what has been said on this topic, none of the things we have today can compare to 1947 standards, mostly because of the tremendous enroads in technology. We have to consider the termendous investments that have brought these blessings that we enjoy. It is not a matter of means income related to now,. It is a matter that many of the materials and components to our time were impossible then.
Socialism will eventually run out of other peoples money. --- On Sun, 1/3/10, Ralph & Maria Finch <[email protected]> wrote: From: Ralph & Maria Finch <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Cessna Skycatcher vs. Ercoupe To: "'ety'" <[email protected]> Date: Sunday, January 3, 2010, 10:34 AM Quite interesting…and gives us a glimpse into real-world calculations and why almost any modern topic is more complex than it first appears. While I don’t trust the official CPI numbers myself, I’ll counter Ed’s example below with these comments. Assuming Ed’s median income numbers are correct, he is implying that the large (29 times!) increase in income has all been absorbed by inflation, that is, we don’t have more buying power. But consider the average quality of living in 1947: probably a small house (1000-1300 sq ft), one bathroom, no air conditioning, probably no forced central heat. One automobile which was pretty old and constantly needed repairs. No TV, no cell phones, a simple radio, no computer (no Ercoupe email lists L). Pretty basic health care, maybe not even routine antibiotics. Contrast that with what we have today. I think we can see that some of the increase in income over the years has brought about a better standard of living, not just matching inflation.
