[Boatanchors] Maybe the Good Old Days Weren't

[Brian]

Hello Joe,

CPI inflation is a crap indicator of price adjustment. The only thing 
determining prices is consumers. Marketing 101 beats Economics 101 hands 
down every time.

If you absolutely must use economics, then look at the number of hours' 
wages required to acquire an item - back then, and now.

73 de Brian, VK2GCE.

On Tuesday, January 19, 2016 12:50 PM , Joe said:

Those of us of a certain age pine for the good ol' days when WWII surplus 
equipment was plentiful and cheap. I was looking through some old issues of 
Radio-TV News and found something that surprised me.
In 1959, Fair Radio was advertising a BC-779 receiver for $69.95 and the 
associated power supply for $14.95. Who among us wouldn't jump at a BC-779 
and power supply for those prices? Yep, those were the good ol' days.
Then I used an inflation calculator: $69.95 in 1959 dollars equals $570.50 
and $14.95 equals $121.93 in today's dollars. In other words, that rig cost 
$692.43 in current dollars. If I saw one at a hamfest next summer for nearly 
$700, I'd walk on by.
See what I mean? Maybe the good ol' days weren't as good as we remember 
them.

                    Joe Connor