In a message dated 9/14/07 11:05:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
One might find it very interesting to compare the annual income per family,
during the times shown.
Yes, but it would have to be adjusted for inflation. Back in the 1950s, a
gross family income of $5,000/yr was solidly middle-class, and $10,000/yr was
Easy Street.
I would even further offer that it may be that the harder it is for families
to make a
good living, the easier it is for folks to become hams.
You're obviously looking at the enormous growth of the 1930s, despite the
Great Depression. I don't have a simple explanation of why there was so much
growth then.
But if the family-income theory is true, why so much growth in the 1950s and
so little in the 1960s? Why the downturn in recent years?
It seems to me that the biggest change in personal economics in my lifetime
has been a sort of inversion of the cost of necessities and luxuries. When I
was a kid, 40-50 years ago) it seemed that necessities (food, clothing,
housing, transportation, utilities, energy, health care) were relatively
inexpensive. Particularly if you went for the basic model and took care of it
yourself.
But luxuries (TV, vacations, restaurants, ham radio, etc.) were relatively
expensive, unless you were somewhat ingenious.
Now it seems that the necessities are expensive and the luxuries inexpensive!
Almost everyone can have a computer, iPod, etc., but the house to put them in
is another story.
What this meant to ham radio was that, in the past, lots of folks had a home
with room for a decent antenna and shack, but not a lot of money for a fancy
rig. So there were lots of articles and examples of how to do ham radio on a
shoestring budget, and they were practical because of the economics of the
time.
A lot of hams homebrewed, converted surplus and built kits because there was
simply no other affordable option. (How many of us built an Elecraft to save
money, compared to those who built one for its performance?)
I suspect that for every ham with an S-line on the air there were a dozen
hams with ARC-5s and S-38s. Today it's the other way around!
I think there are lots of other factors, many of them complicated. For
example, in the 1930s there were lots of inexpensive parts on the market,
partly
because of mass-production techniques developed for broadcasting and partly
because of business failures. After WW2, and well into the 1970s, there was an
enormous amount of war-surplus parts and equipment around at low prices.
Sunspot peaks and lows have a considerable effect.
I think a lot has to do with people's living situations. In the 1930s,
putting up a wire for your radio set was something everyone did. Now it's
forbidden
in many places!
In the 1950s, a lot of Americans were moving out to the 'burbs, with lots of
room and no restrictions. That's changed greatly.
73 de Jim, N2EY
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