Automotive Chatting » Volkswagen Cars » OT: Comments from 1957

OT: Comments from 1957

Question:

"I’ll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it’s going to be impossible to buy a week’s groceries for $20." "Have you seen the new cars coming out next year?  It won’t be long before $5000 will only buy a used one." "If cigarettes keep going up in price, I’m going to quit.  A quarter a pack is ridiculous.." "Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?" "If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store." "When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon.  Guess we’d be better off leaving the car in the garage." "Kids today are impossible.  Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay groomed.  Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls." "I’m afraid to send my kids to the movies any more.. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying ‘damn’ in ‘Gone With The Wind,’ it seems every new movie has either "hell" or "damn" in it. "I read the other day where some scientist thinks it’s possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the of the century.  They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas." "Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball?  It wouldn’t surprise me if someday they’ll be making more than the president." "I never thought I’d see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric..  They are even making electric typewriters now." "It’s too bad things are so tough nowadays.  I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet." "It won’t be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work." "Marriage doesn’t mean a thing any more; those Hollywood stars seem to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat." "I’m just afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business." "Thank goodness I won’t live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes.  I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress." "The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on." "There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend. It costs nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel." "No one can afford to be sick any more; $35 a day in the hospital is too rich for my blood." "If they think I’ll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it."

Response:

But we’re not talking about adjusted-for-inflation dollars.  We’re talking about actual at-the-pump prices, which were considerably less than $.29/gal when I started driving, or I wouldn’t have been so horrified at $.32/gal — and this was in ritzy Westchester County, NY, where prices for everything were higher.  (Don’t ask what we were doing living in such a ritzy area, I still don’t know!  <g) — Sylvia Steiger RN BS http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SylviaRN/quilting.htm Cheyenne WY, USDA zone 5a, Sunset zone 1a http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SylviaRN/land.htm Home of the Wyoming Wind Festival, January 1-December 31

Response:

Funny but inaccurate.  $5000 bought a top-of-the-line Oldsmobile in 1970, so it was much less in 1957.

Measuring in the equivalent of 2001 dollars, that $5000 in 1957 would be equal to $31,446 today, while the purchasing power of $5000 in 1970 would be about the same as $22,727 today.  So, the value of money decreased roughly 28% in that time. And I remember being absolutely horrified when gas reached $.32/gal in 1972, so it must have been much less than $.29/gal in 1957.

From what I can tell, it was in fact about 27-29 cents a gallon in 1957, slightly more for ethyl.  : )  Adjusted for inflation (1995 dollars, from the DOE website), gas averaged $1.64/gal in 1957, and $1.21 in 1972. Jason

Response:

Presidents by official salary $25,000

$25,000 in 1800 = about $347,000 in 2001 $50,000 Ulysses S Grant [2nd term] – Theodore Roosevelt

$50K in 1870 = ~ $675K in 2001 $75,000 William H Taft – Harry S Truman

$75K in 1953 = $496,688 $100,000 Harry S Truman [2nd term] Dwight D Eisenhower John F Kennedy Lyndon B Johnson

$100K in 1972 = $421,940 $200K in 1980 = $429K in 2001.  Wow.  Basically this means the cost of living has *doubled* in 20 years. Here’s a shocker: The purchasing power of $1000 (as measured in 2001 dollars) in 1944 was about the same as in 1814, 130 years before Jason

Response:

[snip of good quotes] The Institute of Official Cheer has a collection of scans out of old books and pamphlets from the 40s, 50s and 60s. The Gallery of Regrettable Food is worth a look, as is the Permanent Collection of Impermanent Art. I really hope they get the Interior Desecrations section up and running soon. (He had to take it down because of bandwidth issues.) I never knew interior decoration could be so painful. http://www.lileks.com/institute/index.html

Thanks I bookmarked it.  this is how I spend cold weather. jig saw puzzles and visiting fun sites on the net.

Response:

Funny but inaccurate.  $5000 bought a top-of-the-line Oldsmobile in 1970, so it was much less in 1957.  And I remember being absolutely horrified when gas reached $.32/gal in 1972, so it must have been much less than $.29/gal in 1957. — Sylvia Steiger RN BS http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SylviaRN/quilting.htm Cheyenne WY, USDA zone 5a, Sunset zone 1a http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SylviaRN/land.htm Home of the Wyoming Wind Festival, January 1-December 31

Response:

In 1957 the minimum wage was already set at $1. It had been raised to $1 in 1955. Always take the info in these things with several grains of salt.   – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – "If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store."

Response:

sweet teenager at that point, eh?? <G madgardener up on the ridge covered with snow, back in the holler, overlooking English Mountain covered in snow, temperatures holding at 35o in Eastern Tennessee zone 6b where it’s FINALLY WINTER….. (yeah, go put on another flannel shirt, Zhan)

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – "I’ll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it’s going to be impossible to buy a week’s groceries for $20." "Have you seen the new cars coming out next year?  It won’t be long before $5000 will only buy a used one." "If cigarettes keep going up in price, I’m going to quit.  A quarter a pack is ridiculous.." "Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?" "If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store." "When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon.  Guess we’d be better off leaving the car in the garage." "Kids today are impossible.  Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay groomed.  Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls." "I’m afraid to send my kids to the movies any more.. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying ‘damn’ in ‘Gone With The Wind,’ it seems every new movie has either "hell" or "damn" in it. "I read the other day where some scientist thinks it’s possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the of the century.  They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas." "Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball?  It wouldn’t surprise me if someday they’ll be making more than the president." "I never thought I’d see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric..  They are even making electric typewriters now." "It’s too bad things are so tough nowadays.  I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet." "It won’t be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work." "Marriage doesn’t mean a thing any more; those Hollywood stars seem to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat." "I’m just afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business." "Thank goodness I won’t live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes.  I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress." "The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on." "There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend. It costs nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel." "No one can afford to be sick any more; $35 a day in the hospital is too rich for my blood." "If they think I’ll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it."

Response:

Un 1957 my parents paid the astronomical price of $26 for my first cigarette pack size transistor Radio. Today you can buy the same radio / or better for $2.95 ;) — Denny Hurley 96, LT4, 6 Spd, Torch Red Conv. C     O     R     V     E     T     T     E

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – "I’ll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it’s going to be impossible to buy a week’s groceries for $20." "Have you seen the new cars coming out next year?  It won’t be long before $5000 will only buy a used one." "If cigarettes keep going up in price, I’m going to quit.  A quarter a pack is ridiculous.." "Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?" "If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store." "When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon.  Guess we’d be better off leaving the car in the garage." "Kids today are impossible.  Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay groomed.  Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls." "I’m afraid to send my kids to the movies any more.. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying ‘damn’ in ‘Gone With The Wind,’ it seems every new movie has either "hell" or "damn" in it. "I read the other day where some scientist thinks it’s possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the of the century.  They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas." "Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball?  It wouldn’t surprise me if someday they’ll be making more than the president." "I never thought I’d see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric..  They are even making electric typewriters now." "It’s too bad things are so tough nowadays.  I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet." "It won’t be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work." "Marriage doesn’t mean a thing any more; those Hollywood stars seem to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat." "I’m just afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business." "Thank goodness I won’t live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes.  I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress." "The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on." "There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend. It costs nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel." "No one can afford to be sick any more; $35 a day in the hospital is too rich for my blood." "If they think I’ll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it."

Response:

Lists of US Presidents http://www.fujisan.demon.co.uk/USPresidents/preslist.htm http://www.fujisan.demon.co.uk/USPresidents/plist4a.htm#pay Presidents by official salary $25,000 George Washington – Ulysses S Grant $50,000 Ulysses S Grant [2nd term] – Theodore Roosevelt $75,000 William H Taft – Harry S Truman $100,000 Harry S Truman [2nd term] Dwight D Eisenhower John F Kennedy Lyndon B Johnson $200,000 Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan George Bush Bill Clinton $400,000 George W Bush

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – That was interesting and funny but I thought the president made less than $75,000 back in 1957.  As far as I heard, it was never a great paying job and most presidents make much more after they are out of office just making speeches.  I did a quick search but couldn’t find any facts.  This is just what I recall from school so please correct me if I’m wrong. — Tony "Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball?  It wouldn’t surprise me if someday they’ll be making more than the president."

Response:

[snip of good quotes] The Institute of Official Cheer has a collection of scans out of old books and pamphlets from the 40s, 50s and 60s. The Gallery of Regrettable Food is worth a look, as is the Permanent Collection of Impermanent Art. I really hope they get the Interior Desecrations section up and running soon. (He had to take it down because of bandwidth issues.) I never knew interior decoration could be so painful. http://www.lileks.com/institute/index.html — Atara   "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus." http://www.50degreesnorth.com/garden/index.html ***What doesn’t fit in my email addy? NADA.***

Response:

That was interesting and funny but I thought the president made less than $75,000 back in 1957.  As far as I heard, it was never a great paying job and most presidents make much more after they are out of office just making speeches.  I did a quick search but couldn’t find any facts.  This is just what I recall from school so please correct me if I’m wrong. — Tony – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – "Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball?  It wouldn’t surprise me if someday they’ll be making more than the president."

Response:

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