We've published charts several times in the past, detailing how the buying power of the US dollar has declined over the course of the past hundred years or so. Visual Capitalist has just published the newest such graphic, which I recommend to you - it's worth viewing, and thinking about.
What struck me was this inset showing the buying power of the dollar in terms of candy and other consumables, over the years. I've snipped it as a screenshot to make it easier to read.
Now that's a graphic illustration of what our money is currently (not) worth!
Peter
12 comments:
In 1964 the minimum wage was $1.25. Today, five 1964 quarters would have a melt value of about $55.25.
-Texas Mike
Brother, can you spare a dime? :)
My poor statistics prof would be rolling in his grave. If you start with Hershey bars, you you stay with Hershey bars. A 30-1 reduction in buying power is stark enough.
I was going to say the same thing. You need to track the cost of a specific item over time, which is difficult because of things like "shrinkflation." A common one is a can of Campbell's tomato soup because it's size and contents have remained the same since it was introduced in 1898.
https://politicalcalculations.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-price-history-of-campbells-tomato.html
Notice how the price pretty much stayed the same until Nixon debased the U.S. dollar... There... THERE is our problem, people...
Can you spare a dime, especially a silver one??? A dollar 'might' buy you 1/4 of a Hershey bar today.
The various media always report rising prices. Perhaps reporting on the dollar's diminishing actual value against a 1964 baseline would be more honest.
"The dollar lost X% of it's value this week, now being worth 21 cents in 1964 money."
JWM
JWM
If you track it to the price of gold, a dollar today is worth around 3 cents when the Federal Reserve Bank was formed. Gold and silver both have set new highs this week. Which means the dollar has shrunk even more this week.
The dollar hasn't shrunk, it's just that the value of everything changes. It's not valid to compare a 1913 dollar to a 2025 dollar. It took all day in the field to earn the 1913 dollar. It took 10 minutes in McDonalds to earn the 2025 dollar. The value of the Hershey bar held steady, like gold. (Not really, but you see my point.)
you would think this is obvious: if wages go up X10 since 1975, and prices go up X10 since 1975, the money supply must have gone up X10 since 1975.
try explaining that to anyone. the more education they have, the less logic penetrates their mind.
And if you’d taken that 1.25 and put it in the Dow Jones, you’d have over *seventy* dollars.
And this was done deliberately....in order to steal our wealth.
For all they claim to abominate the Confederacy and all its works, our beloved leaders follow its example exactly in one area. Rhett Butler said it: "The Confederacy ran a printing press instead of a mint." And we all know what happened to the Confederate dollar, don't we?
Post a Comment