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Originally Posted by SentraSE-R
Compare a minimum wage worker's buying power, or a starting janitor's salary 40 years ago to today, and the average Joe is not able to buy as much fuel, or car, house, food, etc. The American dream is slipping out of Joe Six-pack's ability to attain it.
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Since when is your minimum wage Joe Sixpack the average American, though? Joe's pretty close to the bottom of the scale, really. (Though Jose seems to prosper even further down.)
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In 1970, the minimum wage was $1.60 in today's dollars, gas was $.25/gallon, and a car cost $2000.
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But the price of a decent used car, which is what Joe (and everybody in the next several levels up) would buy was maybe in the $500 range (IIRC - I'm going by memory here). Indeed, looking back I can't actually recall anyone I knew ever buying a new car.
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Today, minimum wage is $7.25, gas is $3.60, and a car costs $18,000.
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But you can buy a decent used car for a couple of thousand - and it's a far better car than anything built in those days.