And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
I call BS. 50s houses were tiny in comparison to today’s demands. My childhood home was 1600sqft and nothing fancy, unless you consider the orange shag carpetting an upgrade. I love vintage cars. But you were lucky to get 50,000 miles on one. I grew up in Pittsburgh PA, and cars would rust to shit in five years.
You made the point perfectly. My 1600 square foot home which is very modest would cost my son and his family $450,000 and used cars around here are going for $10, 000 - $17,000 dollars with 150,000 miles on them.
Thank you for that reality check. Truth is no one would want to go back to 1600sq ft, no air conditioner in the home or the car, drum brakes, manual steering, constant tune ups/lube jobs, paint that lasts 3 years, tiny grocery stores, etc. This list is endless
The size is not important, this is about being able to live a good life (the American dream)... a house, a car, the family and vacations. All on one normal job.
In the fifties kids didn’t expect their parents to provide their own bedroom with an ensuite, an air conditioned house, a $1200 cell phone with a Apple MacBook, a car and $300 designer jeans with holes in them. I shared a bedroom with my brother. There was a a single bedroom. For ventilation we opened the window. For jeans I wore my brother’s neatly patched up Sears jeans. Different expectations and different standards. But yes, a factory worker could keep a stay at home wife with a couple kids on single salary in a small house.
Everything's relative Anon from Pittsburgh. I grew up in a farmhouse in south-central PA that was probably well over 3000 sq ft, my parents had more than one car that made it over 100,000 miles, and life was good! Dad liked to say that we never made a lot of money farming, but there was always food on the table! Pittsburgh was undoubtedly harsh in the 50's and 60's, but the whole country wasn't and is not Pittsburgh. Sorry you had such a rough time of it.
Advantage: nobody bombed us to rubble. Everywhere else was trashed. It should have been a glorious decade for the whole western hemisphere, but alas. It took the world 30 years to come back, and that was about the end of American industrial supremacy.
"Everywhere else was trashed. " And then we helped them build all new factories and infrastructure and we got stuck with hundred year old foundrys, and factories.
Don't forget the G.I. bill helped millions get a start in life. I'd gladly go back to the 50s just because we have lost so much freedom and government is so intrusive in everyday life. And everything is taxed even taxes. And cars got 60k miles but you could fix them yourself and take Sunday drives w/o a cop being around every bend. If you think these are the good old days I pity you.
Well, polio was still a thing. We had a neighbor in an iron lung. It was a generally good time, and I am glad I grew up then, but don't get too nostalgic. We had the draft, even before Vietnam.
Nobody said "Go back to 1950". The point was to enjoy the lifestyle of the 1950s, not everything else. And homes weren't cheap then because of polio, or the draft.
The home ownership rate for 21-35 y.o.s is currently right around 38%, and overall it's less than 2/3rds.
My parents owned a home before they were 30, in Los Angeles, due to the G.I. Bill. On one salary. I make 8-10 times what they made, combined, in their best year, and I couldn't afford the house I was raised in (or anything else within 500 miles of there) even if my salary were double what it is now, which is more than a congressweasel makes. And I'd be in the same boat in any other state, because while home prices there are lower, salaries there drop commensurately.
That's what happens when salary rises 1000%, but home prices have risen 4000%, and inflation has cut the value of a constant dollar from 60¢ in 1950 to 0.6¢ (6/10ths of a cent) currently.
I should own three houses, but I'll be lucky if I can pull off owning one before I die, and 60/40 I'll end up building a lot of it myself - after I retire -just to pull that off.
There is something sad about the picture and comment.
ReplyDeleteYes and I think it is all because of greed....
ReplyDeleteI call BS. 50s houses were tiny in comparison to today’s demands. My childhood home was 1600sqft and nothing fancy, unless you consider the orange shag carpetting an upgrade. I love vintage cars. But you were lucky to get 50,000 miles on one. I grew up in Pittsburgh PA, and cars would rust to shit in five years.
ReplyDeletePlastic doesn't rust.
DeleteYou made the point perfectly. My 1600 square foot home which is very modest would cost my son and his family $450,000 and used cars around here are going for $10, 000 - $17,000 dollars with 150,000 miles on them.
DeleteThank you for that reality check. Truth is no one would want to go back to 1600sq ft, no air conditioner in the home or the car, drum brakes, manual steering, constant tune ups/lube jobs, paint that lasts 3 years, tiny grocery stores, etc. This list is endless
DeleteOh I don’t know. I’ve been there and done that. I could shoot my rifle in my field without people wetting there pants.
DeleteThe size is not important, this is about being able to live a good life (the American dream)... a house, a car, the family and vacations.
DeleteAll on one normal job.
In the fifties kids didn’t expect their parents to provide their own bedroom with an ensuite, an air conditioned house, a $1200 cell phone with a Apple MacBook, a car and $300 designer jeans with holes in them. I shared a bedroom with my brother. There was a a single bedroom. For ventilation we opened the window. For jeans I wore my brother’s neatly patched up Sears jeans. Different expectations and different standards. But yes, a factory worker could keep a stay at home wife with a couple kids on single salary in a small house.
DeleteWhat is that car? DeSoto ...Chrysler?
ReplyDelete'57 Chevy.
DeleteIt's made up. The trunk lid is 57 Chevy. The trim, fins and tail
Deletelights are all fantasy.
Bubbarust
Everything's relative Anon from Pittsburgh. I grew up in a farmhouse in south-central PA that was probably well over 3000 sq ft, my parents had more than one car that made it over 100,000 miles, and life was good! Dad liked to say that we never made a lot of money farming, but there was always food on the table! Pittsburgh was undoubtedly harsh in the 50's and 60's, but the whole country wasn't and is not Pittsburgh. Sorry you had such a rough time of it.
ReplyDeleteI'm astounded.
ReplyDeleteAdvantage: nobody bombed us to rubble. Everywhere else was trashed. It should have been a glorious decade for the whole western hemisphere, but alas. It took the world 30 years to come back, and that was about the end of American industrial supremacy.
ReplyDelete"Everywhere else was trashed. " And then we helped them build all new factories and infrastructure and we got stuck with hundred year old foundrys, and factories.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the G.I. bill helped millions get a start in life. I'd gladly go back to the 50s just because we have lost so much freedom and government is so intrusive in everyday life. And everything is taxed even taxes. And cars got 60k miles but you could fix them yourself and take Sunday drives w/o a cop being around every bend. If you think these are the good old days I pity you.
ReplyDeleteWell, polio was still a thing. We had a neighbor in an iron lung. It was a generally good time, and I am glad I grew up then, but don't get too nostalgic. We had the draft, even before Vietnam.
DeleteNobody said "Go back to 1950".
DeleteThe point was to enjoy the lifestyle of the 1950s, not everything else.
And homes weren't cheap then because of polio, or the draft.
The home ownership rate for 21-35 y.o.s is currently right around 38%, and overall it's less than 2/3rds.
My parents owned a home before they were 30, in Los Angeles, due to the G.I. Bill. On one salary.
I make 8-10 times what they made, combined, in their best year, and I couldn't afford the house I was raised in (or anything else within 500 miles of there) even if my salary were double what it is now, which is more than a congressweasel makes. And I'd be in the same boat in any other state, because while home prices there are lower, salaries there drop commensurately.
That's what happens when salary rises 1000%, but home prices have risen 4000%, and inflation has cut the value of a constant dollar from 60¢ in 1950 to 0.6¢ (6/10ths of a cent) currently.
I should own three houses, but I'll be lucky if I can pull off owning one before I die, and 60/40 I'll end up building a lot of it myself - after I retire -just to pull that off.
Nice car... now get it off my lawn
ReplyDelete