... and what you need to know in the event of a reinstated military draft or purchasing a big ticket item...
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Famous Quotes:
"Old age ain't no place for sissies." Bette Davis
“Every lunatic thinks all other men are crazy.” - Publilius Syrus, 50 B.C.
"The emotions of man are stirred more quickly than his intelligence." Oscar Wilde
"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword.
It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind.
And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry.
Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so.
How do I know? For this is what I have done! And I am Caesar."
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Economic Stuff... from GAL's youthful years til now... and why I'm no sissy in my old age...
In 2005, $1.00 from 1967 is worth: (Which "Index" to trust... I know not)
$5.85 using the Consumer Price Index
$4.70 using the GDP deflater
$6.25 using the unskilled wage
$9.98 using the nominal GDP per capita
$15.00 using the relative share of GDP
EXTRA CREDIT LESSON: Source http://mwhodges.home.att.net/
When I was a kid... things were different...
example 1: a postage stamp in the 1950s cost 3 cents; today's cost is 39 cents - 1,200% inflation;
example 2: a gallon of full-service gasoline cost 18 cents before; today it is $2.85 for self-service - 1,483 % inflation;
example 3: a new house in 1959 averaged $14,900; today it's $282,300 - 1,795% inflation (+1,510% if quality-adjusted);
example 4: a dental crown used to cost $40; today it's $740 - 1,750% inflation;
example 5: an ice cream cone in 1950 cost 5 cents; today its $2.50 - 4,900% inflation;
example 6: monthly government Medicare insurance premiums paid by seniors was $5.30 in 1970; its now $88.50 - 1,570% inflation;
example: several generations ago a person worked 1.4 months per year to pay for government; he now works 5 months.
And in the past, one wage-earner families lived well and built savings with minimal debt, many paying off their home and college-educating children without loans. How about today?
OK... Lesson done... Go Play... but remember “Every lunatic thinks all other men are crazy.” ... play nice...
Peace to you AND the Middle East