Given the average (or median) wage per hour in 1955, and given the average
(or median) cost of a refrigerator (or car, dishwasher or other consumer
product) in 1955, how many hours did the average wage-earner have to work in
1955 to earn the price of a refrigerator/car/gallon of gas compared to that
same question for today.
In plain English, does the average worker today have to work fewer (or more)
hours to earn enough to buy standard consumer products? I understand that
this may be difficult because today's products usually have substantially
more safety and environmental features, but still it would be interesting to
see some baseline comparisons.
Of interest would be a location that provided this information for a variety
of products and services, and for a variety of years.
The Answer
The best source that I know for comparisons like this is the 1997 Annual Report of
the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, "Time Well Spent: The Declining Real Cost of
Living in America." Many of its comparisons are for the mid-1950s. You can find
this at http://www.dallasfed.org/fed/annual/1999p/ar97.pdf.
The quick answer is that the cost of most things has come down a lot.
Send comments and questions to admin@eh.net
