I saw this circulating around and thought it was an interesting read.

Some of these are horrendous, some are funny, and a few made me think “Hmm, maybe not a bad idea”

  • nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca
    10·
    2 months ago

    So, you believe everything the government tells you?

    Lazy argument is lazy. If you have an issue with how inflation is calculated, why are you keeping us in the dark? Tell us what it is.

    The statistic I like to cite [because it’s pretty simple to remember] is that the minimum wage in 1960 was $1.00/hour and the cost of the average home was $11,000.00

    The reason this doesn’t constitute inflation is that most people don’t work for minimum wage, and they buy more than just homes. So trying to work out inflation (the relative value of money over time) requires a slightly broader lens.

    • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
      11·
      2 months ago

      Except that I’m not focusing on “inflation.” I’m concerned with the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor. And by the “poor” I mean the 99%.

      Look at the 1960 figures. That meant that a high school graduate with no particular skills could live a pretty good life and support a family working 40 hours a week. Today it’s common to require two incomes to keep a family going.

      • nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca
        1·
        2 months ago

        You:

        The inflation calculators you use are wrong

        Also you:

        Except that I’m not focusing on “inflation.”

        Look at the 1960 figures. That meant that a high school graduate with no particular skills could live a pretty good life and support a family working 40 hours a week. Today it’s common to require two incomes to keep a family going.

        Cool, but it’s helpful to state your premises up front. That situation was viable well into the 70s, after which Reagan-era policies completely decoupled real income from productivity, and started to fall apart. By the mid 90s it was all but gone.