re: Inflation the last 50 years

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When I was a kid in the 80s, a 2800/sq ft house was a wealthy person's home, or at least upper middle class.

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My buddiy’s dad got promoted to being the head of the plant and it was a big deal when they moved from their ranch to a split level with finished basement in the new subdivision because the kids got their own rooms. They were rich!

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My buddiy’s dad got promoted to being the head of the plant and it was a big deal when they moved from their ranch to a split level with finished basement in the new subdivision because the kids got their own rooms. They were rich!

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My dad was a pretty decent earner. He was college educated in the 70s and worked in industrial construction on the white collar side.

We lived in a 1500 sq ft house with a family of 5. My sisters shared a bedroom until the oldest went to college.

I'm also not arguing that the cost of living isn't crazy. I'm not a baller, but a relatively high earner, and I look at the cost of living and wonder how some people are making it.

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And in 1975 practically no one even knew what student loan debt was. That was a scam on people.

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I'm 47, and neither me, nor my 2 sisters took out student loans. Granted, tuition was like 1k/semester in Louisiana back in the 90s.

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Median income in 1974 was $12,000

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A 15 yr old can make that bagging groceries at Publix.

To me it was much harder in the 70’s, from what I remember. Interest rates to buy anything were like 20%, and the gas lines were something that still sticks in my head, the fighting just to get in line was something. Yeah, it isn’t good now, will agree, but will still take now over the 70’s…for now!

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To me it was much harder in the 70’s, from what I remember. Interest rates to buy anything were like 20%,

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There’s never been a bigger discrepancy between the cost of money and the cost of assets than right now. In the 70s interest rates were high, real high, but asset prices were depressed and you could get a CD at 15% interest.

Now rates are at or above historical averages, but asset prices are WAY more in real dollars than they used to be making the real cost of ownership way more expensive.


And it’s not just about costs, it’s overall societal pressure. shite’s real fricking expensive right now, and if you’re in your 30s and trying to buy your first home you can actually afford, it’s likely to be in the ghetto where you’d never actually be able to send your kids to school. At least in the 70s, once you could afford it, it wasn’t a piece of shite in a crime ridden neighborhood.


And before you say I’m just complaining, I bought my first home at 26 with just my income and make more than the average household income

None of those numbers tell the tale of how hard we had it.

Kids today play in mini houses with electricity and running water.

In the ‘70s we had to make our own clubs underneath overgrown bushes while catching snakes and rats.

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What have the average home size and finishes done in this timeframe?

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This is a silly argument.

Standards of living change, and massively in the span of 50 years. You can't compare average now versus average then, you need to compare versus what is available at the time.

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Exactly . . . Throw in medical advancements and technical advances for cars as well.

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The problem with the OP's premise is median comparisons are not near apples to apples across the time.

Houses are larger, finishes are better etc.

Just as an example there are structural heart issues that in 1974 the only cost was the visit to the cardiologist to tell you they couldn't do anything where many of them now are "fixed" with an outpatient cath lab visit. That procedure costs a lot more than doing nothing.

Cars could be expected to last about 100k in '74 today on average you can probably expect 250k on average. The size of vehicles are larger for the "median" price. Performance and safety are much higher. A Camry will destroy most any 1970s car around the track. Also fuel costs need to be considered, I would bet the same size class vehicles today use 40+% less fuel. That adds up.

The reality is the "median" priced good and services are far better/bigger than those from 50 years ago. Comparing median prices are fruitless without at least acknowledging the fact you are getting far more.

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All of that simply means the standard of living has increased.

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Where does the idea that a better standard of living shouldn't cost more coming from?

When you are buying a house that has 1/3rd more square footage, higher ceilings, a longer lasting roof, more energy efficient, more and large windows, hardwood floors, stone countertops, soft close doors and drawers in the cabinets, etc why in the world would you expect this to not cost more in inflation-adjusted dollars or more importantly buying power for similar jobs?

The other thing the OP didn't factor into home costs is mortgage rates. The interest rates today are ~6.25%. That's lower than all the 70s, 80s and 90s. In the early 1980s they were over 15%. Interest rates are a large part of the total price of a home and that was ignored by the OP.

The thing that the OP didn't mention but has been mentioned IIT is education costs which are far more relevent for white-collar jobs.

Just personal annecdotal numbers:

My undergrad tuition room and board and law school tuition for the full 7 years was roughly 150k. That was a fairly elite private education culminating in a top 10 law school. The same education today is $540k. That is 3.6 times as much. The rankings of the schools are similar to what they were, somewhat higher, for example Duke Law is #6 where it was #7 when I was there. That Duke degree puts you in the running for jobs in similar firms. I got hired in the early 90s at IIRC 93.5k we hired at the same firm/same office/same job this year at $232K which is only roughly 2.5 times as much. The ROI is not nearly as good for them as it was for me. The ROI is still quite good overall because unless they get cut this years 1st years will be making $500k in 6 years but it is still not as good ROI-wise as it was for me at least by the most quantifiable measurement.

It is arguable you don't get more for more in education these days, but the OP's choice of sectors you definately do.