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Thread: How exactly was "Life better in the past"?

  1. #121
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Yeah- it sucks that now you can find lettuce and advocados and tomatoes any time of the year. Used to be they were unavailable in winter. Food selection and availablity is higher than ever. Food costs less now too. Families used to spend one third of their income on food- today it is down to eleven percent.
    I still live today , about as I did as a Ten yr old and I grow , harvest , husband , hunt , fish , gather , pick , dig ,dry ,barter etc for a lot of food, I probably have never spent 10 % , with the exception of a few short yr.'s when I had about five teenagers in the house daily at one time, but the percentage I do use is higher than , say , as an example , 1977 -1987 and considering how little I buy , I do not view that as good for the general population that probably buys all of it. what would they do if they cannot buy it ?



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  3. #122
    Quote Originally Posted by PRB View Post
    Can anybody prove him wrong and say they can live without these things?
    I generally hate telephones . in 1914 would I have needed an auto ? No. Ridiculous .

  4. #123
    Quote Originally Posted by oyarde View Post
    I generally hate telephones . in 1914 would I have needed an auto ? No. Ridiculous .
    how exactly do you need one today? I didn't know you'd be fined or imprisoned for not having one.

  5. #124
    Quote Originally Posted by oyarde View Post
    I still live today , about as I did as a Ten yr old and I grow , harvest , husband , hunt , fish , gather , pick , dig ,dry ,barter etc for a lot of food, I probably have never spent 10 % , with the exception of a few short yr.'s when I had about five teenagers in the house daily at one time, but the percentage I do use is higher than , say , as an example , 1977 -1987 and considering how little I buy , I do not view that as good for the general population that probably buys all of it. what would they do if they cannot buy it ?
    they'd probably just eat what's available.

  6. #125
    Quote Originally Posted by DamianTV View Post
    In the past, paying for anything was more affordable. Gas, food, utilities, etc.
    How much did a cellphone or touch screen computer cost in 1900 or 1950?

    I will concede there are more laws and regulations which prohibit certain freedoms we had in the past, but as far as material goods and technology, how many things can you guys name that have been banned, can't be remade or can't be found for cheaper today? (IE, everything you had in the past, you can still have today, which is not the case vice versa)
    Last edited by PRB; 08-21-2014 at 03:32 PM.

  7. #126
    Quote Originally Posted by PRB View Post
    they'd probably just eat what's available.
    Each other ?

  8. #127
    Quote Originally Posted by PRB View Post
    how exactly do you need one today? I didn't know you'd be fined or imprisoned for not having one.
    I drive , just guessing 34 miles to work , round trip . In 1914 I would not have needed to do that because the income I generated off of my lands would have been enough , now I need another job just to pay the property and Fed taxes. I sure as hell will never move any closer to the general population of godless , commie $#@!s.In fact , I worry the vampires may become too close.

  9. #128
    Quote Originally Posted by PaulConventionWV View Post
    Isn't that the whole reason this forum exists? When there's tyranny, there's going to be more until it is stopped.
    One ALWAYS gets more of what one rewards.
    freedomisobvious.blogspot.com

    There is only one correct way: freedom. All other solutions are non-solutions.

    It appears that artificial intelligence is at least slightly superior to natural stupidity.

    Our words make us the ghosts that we are.

    Convincing the world he didn't exist was the Devil's second greatest trick; the first was convincing us that God didn't exist.



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  11. #129
    Quote Originally Posted by PRB View Post
    How much did a cellphone or touch screen computer cost in 1900 or 1950?

    I will concede there are more laws and regulations which prohibit certain freedoms we had in the past, but as far as material goods and technology, how many things can you guys name that have been banned, can't be remade or can't be found for cheaper today? (IE, everything you had in the past, you can still have today, which is not the case vice versa)
    Well isn't that the $#@!ing whole point? Screw freedom if you can have a touch screen computer, right?
    "The Patriarch"

  12. #130
    Quote Originally Posted by oyarde View Post
    I drive , just guessing 34 miles to work , round trip . In 1914 I would not have needed to do that because the income I generated off of my lands would have been enough , now I need another job just to pay the property and Fed taxes. I sure as hell will never move any closer to the general population of godless , commie $#@!s.In fact , I worry the vampires may become too close.
    Oh I see, so your problem isn't that you're required to have a car, it's that you don't want to live near your work.

    Do you still own a land you wish you could make use of, but the government is stopping you from?

  13. #131
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    Well isn't that the $#@!ing whole point? Screw freedom if you can have a touch screen computer, right?
    In 1900-1950, a million dollars won't get you a touch screen computer or a cellphone.

    Today, you can take your gadget and for less than $10k, you can settle in a country of your choice. (wait, which one is it? are there no freer countries? or there are and you just don't want to move there?)

    So today still gives you more options.

  14. #132
    Quote Originally Posted by oyarde View Post
    I drive , just guessing 34 miles to work , round trip . In 1914 I would not have needed to do that because the income I generated off of my lands would have been enough , now I need another job just to pay the property and Fed taxes. I sure as hell will never move any closer to the general population of godless , commie $#@!s.In fact , I worry the vampires may become too close.
    You probably could not afford a car in 1914. Average income was $550 and a Ford cost $500 or almost an entire year's income so you didn't have much option besides maybe taking a train for seeking a job away from where you lived. http://www.albanyherald.com/news/201...1964-and-1989/

    1914
    ##— The Ford Motor Co. increased wages from $2.40 for a 9-hour day to $5 for an 8-hour day. Ford went on to sell 248,000 cars the same year.
    ##— The first everyday items made from stainless steel were available to the public. The first items of the new ‘rustless steel’ were most cutlery.
    ##— Traffic cones were invented by Charles P. Rudabaker.
    ##— In Washington, DC, the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial was put into place.
    ##— “Tarzan of the Apes” by Edgar Rice Burroughs was first published.
    ##— The Great War (WWI) started. President Woodrow Wilson declared the United States as neutral.
    ##— The Harrison Narcotics Act, regulating and taxing the production, importation, and distribution of opiates, was signed into law.
    ##— Zippers were relatively new and used mostly in boots and tobacco pouches.
    ##— Charlie Chaplin made his film debut and Babe Ruth made his Major League Baseball debut.
    ##— Mary Phelps Jacobs patented the brassiere.
    ##— The Greyhound Bus Co. began its first passenger trips.
    ##— Beginning the first of June, the use of alcohol was prohibited in the U.S. Navy. Welch’s Grape Juice was the recommended substitute.
    ##— The average annual income was $577. The average cost of a new car was $500 while a new house averaged $3,500. A gallon of milk (mostly sold by the quart) carried a 32 -cent price tag while a gallon of gas was 12 cents. A loaf of bread cost six cents.
    ##— Life expectancy for males was 52 years and females, 56.8 years.
    With a home price being about six times annual income, and median income being about $50,000 today that would be equal to a $300,000 home today in terms of income expenditures to buy one. Gallon of milk would be about $3.00 (pretty close where I live).

    That Ford wage was twice the average at the time.

    There was about one car for every 20 people in the country anyways.
    Last edited by Zippyjuan; 08-22-2014 at 01:49 PM.

  15. #133
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    You probably could not afford a car in 1914. Average income was $550 and a Ford cost $500 or almost an entire year's income so you didn't have much option besides maybe taking a train for seeking a job away from where you lived. http://www.albanyherald.com/news/201...1964-and-1989/



    With a home price being about six times annual income, and median income being about $50,000 today that would be equal to a $300,000 home today in terms of income expenditures to buy one. Gallon of milk would be about $3.00 (pretty close where I live).

    That Ford wage was twice the average at the time.
    you're missing the point, he didn't need a car in 1914, he needs one now because he's forced to with threat of prison or fines.

  16. #134
    https://www.garryinsurance.com/blog/...istics-1914/#/

    Fuel for cars was sold in drug stores only.

    Only 14% of homes had a bathtub.

    Only 8% of homes had a telephone.

    There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

    The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

    The average US wage in 1914 was 22 cents per hour.

    The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

    An accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year.

    A dentist made $2,500 per year.

    A mechanical engineer $5,000 per year.

    95% of all births took place at home.

    90% of doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION.

    18% of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

    Only 6% of Americans graduated from high school.

    Sugar costs 4 cents a pound.

    Eggs were 14 cents a dozen.

    Coffee was 15 cents a pound.

    There was no such thing as toothpaste or deodorant.

    The American Flag had 45 stars.

    The population of Las Vegas was only 30.

    There were about 230 reported murders in the entire USA.
    Just to try to convert some of those "cheap" prices to today- we need to adjust for higher wages today as well. According to https://ycharts.com/indicators/average_hourly_earnings median hourly wage in the US is about $25 an hour. Average hourly wage in 1914- 22 cents which makes today's 113 times higher. What is 113 times those prices?

    Coffee 15 cents per pound- $16.95 a pound (and there was just one flavor if you could find it).
    Eggs 14 cents per dozen- $15.82 a dozen today
    Sugar- four cents a pound- $4.52 a pound

    Good old days when things were cheap?

    At 12 cents a gallon of gas in my previous post and using the figures for this one that would mean that gas cost the equivalent of $13.56 a gallon today. Assuming you had one of the few automobiles to drive.
    Last edited by Zippyjuan; 08-22-2014 at 02:28 PM.

  17. #135
    but who cares! we had MORE FREEDOM AND LESS GOVERNMENT.

  18. #136
    Some seem to feel that "life sucks and only get suckier". There are (and always have been) both good and bad things going on. There never really was a "good old days" when things were all wonderful except maybe in movies. By only looking at the bad you miss a lot of wonderful things going on.



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  20. #137
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Some seem to feel that "life sucks and only get suckier". There are (and always have been) both good and bad things going on. There never really was a "good old days" when things were all wonderful except maybe in movies. By only looking at the bad you miss a lot of wonderful things going on.
    they don't always "ignore" the good things, they just don't value them over the things they value and allegedly lost.

  21. #138
    Well if we still had
    Quote Originally Posted by PRB View Post
    MORE FREEDOM AND LESS GOVERNMENT.
    those items might be even less expensive relative to income than they are now.
    Legitimate use of violence can only be that which is required in self-defense.
    -Ron Paul

  22. #139
    Quote Originally Posted by PRB View Post
    Oh I see, so your problem isn't that you're required to have a car, it's that you don't want to live near your work.

    Do you still own a land you wish you could make use of, but the government is stopping you from?
    No , the obvious problem that you avoided ,for a simple man such as myself is the govt takes too much of my earnings . In 1914 , lol , if my Family had had an auto , only thing it would have gotten used for would be to arrive at Church on Sun morning . They should have prayed harder against thieving , socialist govt .

  23. #140
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    You probably could not afford a car in 1914. Average income was $550 and a Ford cost $500 or almost an entire year's income so you didn't have much option besides maybe taking a train for seeking a job away from where you lived. http://www.albanyherald.com/news/201...1964-and-1989/



    With a home price being about six times annual income, and median income being about $50,000 today that would be equal to a $300,000 home today in terms of income expenditures to buy one. Gallon of milk would be about $3.00 (pretty close where I live).

    That Ford wage was twice the average at the time.

    There was about one car for every 20 people in the country anyways.
    Yeah , my Family could have afforded a car in 1914 , but they would not have bought one.

  24. #141
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Some seem to feel that "life sucks and only get suckier". There are (and always have been) both good and bad things going on. There never really was a "good old days" when things were all wonderful except maybe in movies. By only looking at the bad you miss a lot of wonderful things going on.
    I am actually fine with where I am now Zip , but I would not want to be a young person today , I seriously doubt the majority of them will ever attain what I was able to or even hit the " median " in the future. Where , in my time , most could have if they were just willing to work hard enough .

  25. #142
    Quote Originally Posted by oyarde View Post
    No , the obvious problem that you avoided ,for a simple man such as myself is the govt takes too much of my earnings . In 1914 , lol , if my Family had had an auto , only thing it would have gotten used for would be to arrive at Church on Sun morning . They should have prayed harder against thieving , socialist govt .
    would you rather make $10 and pay no taxes or $1000 and pay 50% in taxes?

  26. #143
    Quote Originally Posted by oyarde View Post
    I am actually fine with where I am now Zip , but I would not want to be a young person today , I seriously doubt the majority of them will ever attain what I was able to or even hit the " median " in the future. Where , in my time , most could have if they were just willing to work hard enough .
    I'm still not seeing this claim in numbers or actual examples.

    What's wrong with being a young person today other than having unrealistic expectations, being lied to go to college, being peer pressured into debt and dreaming they'll never be in trouble? All those things are choices and delusions which can be cured if you just had the right information, or right parenting.

    What was you "able to attain" that you're challenging young people to achieve? What is the "median" you are speaking of that you're so uncertain people can get to?

    There's plenty of jobs today people today can still take, they just think they're too good for it, and no thanks to government which subsidizes unemployment that helps discourage hard work, but no less, people who want to achieve good things still can (but people who just want to survive, can do it much easier).

  27. #144
    Quote Originally Posted by PRB View Post
    In 1900-1950, a million dollars won't get you a touch screen computer or a cellphone.

    Today, you can take your gadget and for less than $10k, you can settle in a country of your choice. (wait, which one is it? are there no freer countries? or there are and you just don't want to move there?)

    So today still gives you more options.
    Oh bull$#@!. What country are you going to settle in for less than ten thousand? I can't go into Canada, and I don't want to move to Mexico or South America because our war on drugs (freedom!) has rendered much of it rather inhospitable. Please give examples of which countries you are talking about.
    "The Patriarch"



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  29. #145
    Quote Originally Posted by PRB View Post
    would you rather make $10 and pay no taxes or $1000 and pay 50% in taxes?
    Why are those the only choices?
    "The Patriarch"

  30. #146
    No Internet trolls back then...
    Pfizer Macht Frei!

    Openly Straight Man, Danke, Awarded Top Rated Influencer. Community Standards Enforcer.


    Quiz: Test Your "Income" Tax IQ!

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    The Federalist Papers, No. 15:

    Except as to the rule of appointment, the United States have an indefinite discretion to make requisitions for men and money; but they have no authority to raise either by regulations extending to the individual citizens of America.

  31. #147
    Quote Originally Posted by Danke View Post
    No Internet trolls back then...
    Seriously.

    I don't know why anyone's still feeding them. Honestly. No one with an open mind is ever going to read this silliness this far. We pwned them sufficiently long, long before it came down to, 'You shouldn't turn back the clock forty years because life sucked one hundred years ago (not coincidentally, considering Wilson was trying to fasttrack us into socialism one hundred years ago--and 97 years ago he succeeded).

    I suggest we let the trolls play with each other. They don't seem to need our help.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    We believe our lying eyes...

  32. #148
    //
    Last edited by specsaregood; 05-16-2016 at 10:04 PM.

  33. #149
    Quote Originally Posted by PRB View Post
    I keep hearing, over and over, mostly from conservatives, that somehow life was better in the past. I still don't understand why, to me, most of the arguments are based on cherry picking the favorite traits of the individual








    I'm getting bored. This is too easy.
    All modern revolutions have ended in a reinforcement of the power of the State.
    -Albert Camus

  34. #150
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    Why are those the only choices?
    Because it's my question, but even if it wasn't, it's an example of what you're complaining about.

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