Amazon created a concrete shortage

[MossRoad]

Plus how else do you accumulate nearly 50K posts?

7 post a day for 20 years

 

[MossRoad]

Plus how else do you accumulate nearly 50K posts?

Since the Good Post button showed up, the count will go down, as a lot of those were "Nice job", "I agree" and things like that.

 

[seville009]

Since the Good Post button showed up, the count will go down, as a lot of those were "Nice job", "I agree" and things like that.

i agree; good post;nice job....

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Plus how else do you accumulate nearly 50K posts?

Jaw Jack'n...

 

[NoTrespassing]

Dollar value is just an arbitrary number. The real denominator is the value of the average hourly wage. Judging by living standards of ninety years ago compared to now, I'd say we are doing pretty darn good. The average wage earner has a much higher standard of living and way more disposable income compared to the 1930s. I'll take now over then any day.

I like to use gasoline and McDonald's meal as a measure compared to minimum wage/median hourly wage. I remember being able to buy a regular cheese burger, frie and coke for 99 cents in 1980, gas was about 1$. I think min wage was about 2.85, don't know median income.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Seems like a large percentage have been going along willingly, taking on more debt to live a lifestyle that's beyond their means. No one "needs" a new luxury SUV, $1000 I-phone for every household member, a 55" tv, a 3000+ s/f house, etc. The same "working class" who got greedy and priced themselves out of a job while scoffing up low priced imported goods. Yeah, the corporations, the 1%, et al get the bad rap, but there's plenty of blame to go around.

I think my 60" tv was cheaper in actual dollars than my 27" twenty five years ago, not even taking inflation into consideration. Just sayin...

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

I think my 60" tv was cheaper in actual dollars than my 27" twenty five years ago, not even taking inflation into consideration. Just sayin...

From what I've observed the necessary things are becoming more expensive for the wage earner, particularly housing. Gasoline has stayed about the same. In 1970 I could buy 10 gallons for an hours wage (union job) and now, I can still buy 10 gallons of gas for an hours wage, or I could before January of this year. My 19" color TV cost $425 in 1972, my 43" TV for the den is 4k and cost $275. Housing and land are where we are really losing ground, but that has a lot to do with supply and demand. There are a lot more people so demand is up, they aren't making any more land so the supply is about the same resulting in sometimes ridiculous prices for a single family home.

 

[Oaktree]

I like to use gasoline and McDonald's meal as a measure compared to minimum wage/median hourly wage. I remember being able to buy a regular cheese burger, frie and coke for 99 cents in 1980,

Remember McDonalds' ad campaign around that time where they made a big deal how you got change from a dollar?

I think my 60" tv was cheaper in actual dollars than my 27" twenty five years ago, not even taking inflation into consideration. Just sayin...

Electronics are definitely something that's come WAAAY down in price over the years. When I was 13 in 1963 I bought my first transistor radio. It was $19.99. That translates to ~$180 in today's money. Lot of money for a cheapie made-in-Japan radio that was only AM!

Housing and land are where we are really losing ground, but that has a lot to do with supply and demand. There are a lot more people so demand is up, they aren't making any more land so the supply is about the same resulting in sometimes ridiculous prices for a single family home.

Some of that difference though is what people are buying these days. When I bought my first house in 1976, it was definitely a fixer-upper, as were the houses most of my friends bought for their first homes too. 2 bedrooms, one (very small) bathroom, dirt-floor basement and only around 1000 s/f. Today's homebuyers want something considerably larger, better equipped and move-in ready. So not a totally fair comparison.
I remember comparing what my parents paid for their house in the early 50s to what my first one cost 25 years later and being equally dismayed.

 

[PuffyC]

The whole “stuff is so much more expensive today” thing is largely a manufactured myth. I won’t speculate on why this myth is pushed as hard as it is. Housing prices are the gold standard but only when you compare median home prices and assume that houses today are the same as they were 40 years ago. They are not. The fact is if you adjust for inflation, you could buy a house for practically the same price as 40 years ago on a per square foot basis. The difference is the median house size is 47% larger than it was 40 years ago.

Believe It or Not, Real Estate Affordability Hasn't Changed Much in 40 Years

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Some of that difference though is what people are buying these days. When I bought my first house in 1976, it was definitely a fixer-upper, as were the houses most of my friends bought for their first homes too. 2 bedrooms, one (very small) bathroom, dirt-floor basement and only around 1000 s/f. Today's homebuyers want something considerably larger, better equipped and move-in ready. So not a totally fair comparison.
I remember comparing what my parents paid for their house in the early 50s to what my first one cost 25 years later and being equally dismayed.

The whole “stuff is so much more expensive today” thing is largely a manufactured myth. I won’t speculate on why this myth is pushed as hard as it is. Housing prices are the gold standard but only when you compare median home prices and assume that houses today are the same as they were 40 years ago. They are not. The fact is if you adjust for inflation, you could buy a house for practically the same price as 40 years ago on a per square foot basis. The difference is the median house size is 47% larger than it was 40 years ago.

Believe It or Not, Real Estate Affordability Hasn't Changed Much in 40 Years

My dad bought our home in the 1940s for $3500. According to the inflation calculator I have on my phone, that $3500 in 1948 would be worth about $35,000 in todays money, his income at that time translates to $18.75 per hour today. . When my dad died in 1991 we sold it as is needing a new roof, new heat and some physical repairs for $75,000, that translates to $139,000 now. Redfin estimates this same 1127 sq ft home at $570,000. Granted after we sold it the new owner put considerable time and effort into the home, probably adding 50-75% to the value but the square footage is the same. My dad bought the home on a ten year mortgage, you couldn't do that today. With a 20% down 2% interest a ten year mortgage would be about $4200 a month not counting any escrow payments. . There is an apples to apples comparison rather than just speculation.

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellingham/1323-Franklin-St-98225/home/15804121

The west coast has seen asinine price increases over the past 50 years, I am sure other parts of the country would not have seen such high inflation in real estate