[Hallicrafters] Inflation

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

> Duane Fischer, W8DBF wrote:
> > I do not recall the exact value, but the USA was at about $44 per
> > troy ounce for Gold and the rest of the world was double or triple!

It was $35.00 an ounce. I remember it very clearly and 
exactly.

What is interesting about this is that you could go into any 
car dealership in 1930 with 20 of those $20.00 gold pieces 
and buy a new car for $700.00. The last, 1928, Model "T" 
cost about $400.00. A standard Chevrolet cost $700.00 in 
1930.

You can take those same 20, $20.00 gold pieces to almost 
any car dealership today, and buy a new car...if they would 
accept them.

With gold now being about $1000.00/ounce, that works out 
to a $20,000.00 car.

To get a fairly accurate idea of how far the value of our 
dollar has dropped, there is an inflation calculator at this 
URL:

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

It shows that the value of our dollar remained pretty much 
steady from 1800 through about 1913, when it started 
dropping at a fairly steady rate. 1913 was the year that the 
Federal Reserve was started, AND the Income Tax was 
instituted.

Around 1960 or so, the drop in value steepened very very 
noticeably, until now it is at a 45 degree angle, or more, 
downward.

As an example, I was making about $10,000.00/year in 
1975 when I was single. In 2007, I would have to be 
making $41611.49/year to equal the buying power I had in 
1975.

If I had been able to buy one of those receivers I wanted in 
1960 which cost $450.00 then, that same receiver, if it were 
newly manufactured in 2007, would cost me $3167.91.

So, yes, the VALUE of our dollar has dropped signifcantly: I 
would say precipitously, and disastrously..

Ken Gordon W7EKB