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Has anyone wondered why and how Houses, automobiles, clothing and food have become so expensive?

Has anyone wondered why and how Houses, automobiles, clothing and food have become so expensive?

In 1970 you could buy a three bedroom two bath, two car garage home in mosts parts of California for $12,000 to $18,000!

Rent a decent furnished apartment for $300 a month!

Gasoline was 35 cents a gallon.

You could buy a car new car between $1800 to $5,000 for a luxury type vehicle.

Yes wages were less than $12.00 per hour.

Minimum wage was under $2.

A $50,000 home was a palace!

Now everything in fifty nine years has grown at least twenty fold, except wages!

Our wages have basically remained overtly stagnate while the salaries and benefits for the up 10% have grown exponentially!

Out side of basic economic answers and long standing BS!

Is there any reason we have to be so indenture?

of-the-mountain 9 May 1
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18 comments

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1

Inflation?

1

Sounds like you question the things more people in this country need to be asking.

1

Greed [ unsustainable at that]

2

The average American has to be held responsible also. In the 50's & 60's credit was not in abundance, people could actually buy goods and services with out going into debt. Then along came bankcards and that changed the economy. Bank credit cards made it easy to buy what you wanted with out a pay raise, without unionism, without thought of how much you were getting into debt. Banks loved it, now they made on money on money you didn't have yet. Manufacturers were elated as more credit meant more profit on sales, then they didn't have to give people raises as people could get what they wanted without a raise. Then surprise the bubble bursts.

Bam. Combine that with the natural inflation, we’ve got one big unsustainable mess.

3

Capitalism doesn't work unless there is a rich class and then everyone else under them. Wages and costs are balanced to stifle the lower classes from having too much money, often having costs outweigh wages and income. The value of money is retained like that. Capitalism was designed to, and will always favor, the rich. It's all manipulation.

Our "founding father" James Madison is quoted as saying the government should, "Protect the opulent minority from the majority" (middle class and the poor).

5

Competition for limited amount of a product. The market price ends up being whatever people will keep paying. We should boycott automakers. Like that'd ever really happen!

4

IMO, it’s a combination of inflation and demand. Politicians have learned to use money supply to effect the economy and the undoing inflation is economic suicide. Rules of Supply and Demand have pushed SoCal cost of living into the upper stratosphere. Limited supplies and crushing demand make prices rise and inversely plentiful supply and little demand makes things cheap.

2

Because people were too comfortable.
A population that has to work constantly just to try making ends meet doesn't have time to think, protest, or instigate change.
And keeps them too afraid of doing so in fear of losing what little they do have.
Basic manipulate and control tactics.

4

No, I don't wonder at all. I watched it happen. When I complained about it while it was happening, I was stared at like I had two heads.

All I can conclude is Americans on average are extremely gullible and bad at math, particularly when it has a $ in front of it or % behind it. The CPI is not just a number folks! It means something, particularly when it is compared to your annual pay increase. PAY ATTENTION DANG IT!!

CDP, the Dow, Wall street, NASDAQ, and all the other number and rating services that are part of something that can not be actually measure with one or two numbers!

Watch this Adam Ruins Everything - Season : 2 Episode 11
[kodiapps.com]

It is a simple explanation of a overrated economic concepts used to confound and confuse in buying and loosing everything to corporations and the wealthy!

@of-the-mountain Demanding absolute accuracy is nonsensical. The CPI gives a sense of what inflation is. The overwhelming sense of attitudes toward pay raises has been "Whatever the boss gives me is fine and what I deserve." which is total BS of course, but the CPI is one of a set of numbers that try to gauge the increase in cost of living. To ignore that and accept whatever the bosses say is good is ignorance at best.

@Normanbites:

CPI is a false narrative just like GDP, just as in the unemployment rate, and the interest rates!!

It only reflects what they want it to reflect!

Hence, how much they can steal from us with deregulation and Corporate tax bailouts.

All the rating agencies were fraudulent and overtly complicit in the 2008 Bank Ponzi scheme!

Which made over $$$4 Trillion$$$ in value disappear in a few days!

We are force feed this shit!

Just like trump supports believe he is draining the swamp!

LOL!

@of-the-mountain Even compared to the likely manipulated CPI, wages have been losing ground for 40 years. If you have a better index to use, by all means, feel free to share it. But to complain and offer no alternative, is not helpful.

The fact is, people have been rolling over for their employers, just accepting what they are given for pay increases. Again, even compared to the CPI, wages have been losing ground and no one says anything. The fact that you scream the CPI is not accurate is not helpful if you don't offer an alternative.

@Normanbites:
Absolutely!

There has been a republican right wing fascist coup d'tat starting with Nixon to destroy unions, raid and destroy pension plan, and criminalize those the poor, ill educated,and at or below the poverty level!

Work more hours get less and less for your efforts!

The real American way!

We are nothing but fodder for the transnational corporations and the wealthy!

Before I was forced to retired I average over 70 hours a week six and seven days a week to have it all lost within six months after the Dot Bomb fiasco! I lost my so-called retirement, stock options, 401K's, and corporate bonds which became worth less than the paper they were printed on!

So it is a real joke on all of us!

4

sloppy regulations and enforcement of the rules that keep the capitalusts in check.

3

Vote the Republicans out come November!!

That won’t change too much.

4

As time increases, the value of money decreases. That's why economists have this thing called the "time value of money". For example, you could say $1 now in 2018 is actually worth $0.50 from 1968. That's not correct, it's just to show the general idea.

1

Lots of reasons greed mainly ...as for houses in the UK during the 80's houses became dirt cheap so loads of people decided to have a second home or decided to sell as prices rose falsely for some reason ......I know there was a spike in prices which was manufactured. For definite ........this bubble didn't last but the houses stayed at the higher prices but the wages didn't catch up and probably never will especially if the government refuse to build more council houses ....oh also people were allowed to buy their council houses dirt cheap and sell them at a much higher price .....most of the people buying them were landlords which also put a strain on the market.....im not % on the details as I'm going from memory from when I was a teenager

1

I saw an article in AARP on this subject, and gas and food were really about where they should be given inflation. Gas and housing were way over the top. Given those are the two most expensive items most people purchase, it is way out of proportion compared to income.

Try this URL: [en.wikipedia.org]

Then you can go from there in your research!

@of-the-mountain Thank you. ☺

2

In 1970 all major world currencies were tied to the gold standard.

[en.wikipedia.org]

That ended in 1971, so that freed up governments worldwide to print all the money they wanted.

Whenever the economy slows down, the central banks print more money. So each dollar/yen/yuan/Euro you are holding is worth less.

BD66 Level 8 May 1, 2018
1

Capitalism got greedy.... what do you expected, the one with the means to get compassionate? Welcome to the Real World. Capitalism on its Apex while you dangle and swing in the Pendulum.

4

keep voting for thoose who represent big business,reagan/bush ,ford,bush again,republicans block min. wage raises,and ssn benifits,so govt,takes in less taxes,and wages stagnant.

1

Thanks a lot TRUMP! 😛

It was Trump, but not just Trump. Regan started a good bit of it. And every president since let it happen. And the CEO mafia was supporting it the entire time.

@Normanbites
Actually it started with Nixon!
The traitor!

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