Did some number crunching on your list Aeri and this is what I came up with. Adjusted for inflation the prices on your list, in 2019, would be as follows: New House $159,944 Average income $67,418 per year New Car $22,595 Average Rent $952 per month Harvard Tuition $16,502 per year Movie Ticket $9.50 Gasoline $2.50 per gallon Postage Stamp $0.51 Food Sugar $3.94 per 5 lbs. Milk $7.43 per gallon Coffee $6.22 per pound Bacon $5.08 per pound Eggs $2.86 per dozen Hamburger $3.94 per pound Bread $1.59 per loaf I'll leave to y'all to determine if these prices are off the wall.
In the present day we have a cow surplus, no doubt caused by taxpayer contributions handed out to wealthy farmers by congressional fuckers to garner votes. The price of milk is now artificially deflated.
Its technically impossible to work out "adjusted for inflation" figures because inflation is determined by the cost increases in a range of goods such as gas, milk over a time period Its averaged out and more applicable to those that buy the same things the inflation rate is calculated on. Errors just compound over time. So with large values, as in the case of houses prices, the figures are way off. In that example there, calculating the house price "adjusted for inflation" you have unknowlingly come out with a figure partly based on how much the cost of fruit has gone up over the same time frame If you were a single dude thats a vegan but drives 2 hours each way to work each day for 30 years, your experienced inflation rate would be very different to a guy with 4 kids that buys a lot of milk, and works two blocks away
The frightening part today is that when we bought our house in 1979. it represented one year of my salary. Although our daughter currently earns in excess of £35,000, to buy a house local to us would cost her more then 30 years salary.
Indeed if we compare the prices from nowdays, the difference is huge. Everything has gone up in the last years, though in the same time nothing changed.
My grandpa used to tell me a lot that times when he was young and crazy were better than now. Of courses he misses the most beautiful period of his life, but anyway there is a dose of truthfulness in his words. Why has the prices for sugar, houses and other services gone up, if nothing changed? They build the houses based on the same methods as 50 years ago. The provenance of sugar, salt and coffee is the same. I agree many new food products and services offered by condo management companies appeared on the market, but it didn’t mean the government should have raised the prices for everything. This isn’t fair!
Back in my day I could catch a bus into town, go see a movie with popcorn and catch the bus back for 5cents.
Here's an Inflation Calculator to translate 1971 US Dollars to the current US Dollar . Inflation Calculator | Find US Dollar's Value From 1913-2023 I was 6 and a half in 1971, I live through the San Fernando Earthquake in LA . My old school Florence Avenue had to have it's two story old brick school building torn down and we had to use potable class rooms for school , that year. And I remember my Dad used to get a free big glass with Blue Chip Stamps every time he filled up the gas tank at the gas station.