Craftsman now mostly made in China. Bummer.

[olddog]

I remember when gasoline was $0.20 - $0.25 a gallon and minimum wage was $1.50 an hour. Good manufacturing jobs paid 2 - 3 times minimum wage.

I'll use 25 cents and do the math. Gasoline has been running $3 - $4 a gallon, which is 12 to 16 times as much as it was. So minimum wage should be $18 - $24 an hour and good manufacturing jobs would be $36 - $72 an hour. Looks like wages have not kept up.

To be fair taxes on gasoline are higher today than back then, so not all the change is energy cost, but it could be argued that cost after tax is what everyone pays.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by olddog

I remember when gasoline was $0.20 - $0.25 a gallon and minimum wage was $1.50 an hour....

But over the past 100 years, food prices have fallen by 82%. Why shouldn't we use that basis instead of gasoline?

[olddog]

Originally Posted by patrickt

But over the past 100 years, food prices have fallen by 82%. Why shouldn't we use that basis instead of gasoline?

Because the cost of energy impacts every part of the economy and therefore has the biggest impact on the economy. The price of eggs impacts very little in the economy.

Now at this point, we are going on my memory, which isn't very accurate. Candy bars were a nickle now a buck. Cars were $2500 and now $25000. However candy bars are different sizes and car options radically different. Difficult to compare. Energy is pretty much energy and easier to compare. I know octane, lead, etc. but it provides the same purpose.

PS
Perhaps the price of a barrel of oil would be a better number, but I didn't have them in my head, and gasoline is tied to the price of oil.

PPS
Everyone relates to the price of gasoline, not oil. Most peoples eyes roll back in their head if you start talking about $/btu costs.

[patrickt]

Not just eggs. Food prices in general have fallen by over 80%. See: Over 100 Years, Food Prices Have FALLEN By 82% But what's more even the poorest of the poor now have much more than they ever did. See: How Are We Doing?; The American Magazine Note in that article, which is from the election before last, that a gallon of gasoline still goes for less than 11 minutes of work.