Reply #80: Here are some numbers as to how bad things are

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I went to a wage inflation calculator to help me make the following calculations

In 1990, a job that paid$ ____________ per year would have to pay $ ____________ per year in 2011 just to be EQUAL in purchasing power.

18,000 to 31,000

25,000 to 43,000

50,000 to 87,0000

75,000 to 130,000

How many jobs/wages in this country do you think have risen appropriately with inflation?




Amazingly even making the “benchmark” 6-figure salary today doesn’t really add up.

A person making $100,000 dollars per year is equal to a person who earned

$76,000 in 2000

$58,000 in 1990

$36,000 in 1980

Think about that.

Even a person who earns $100,000 dollars per year is only equal in living standards to a person who earned $58,000 dollars per year in 1990 and $36,000 per year in 1980.

For some reason I can recall more people earning $58,000 dollars annually in 1990 than I can people earning 100 grand today. And nobody in 1990 considered a family or individual earning $58,000 thousand dollars per year rich in the same manner we view $100,000-dollar salaries today.


In 1980, $36,000 per year was factory work. Could you imagine factor work paying $100,000 thousand dollars per year today?




Our wage standards and expectations have been drastically lowered over the last 30-40 years.


Here is the department of labor wage inflation calculator.

http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm