I ran across an article and a website this morning. The article is at WTF happened in 1971 and makes the point that everything was Nixon’s fault and the result of the gold standard being abandoned.
Causality is always inferred, and these charts deal with topics that are not all within my specialties. Still, these charts reflect what was occurring through my entire adult life – I recall turning 21 at the end of 1970, and the legal drinking age dropping to 18 on January 1, 1971. The lower drinking age may have been causal – blaming Nixon for everything may be excessive.
Anyway, these charts, taken from the website, show what happened during my adult life – and will hopefully tease you into checking the websites above.
Productivity more than doubled, wages increased by 15%.
We became a nation of working parents.
I remember some of these prices. On the farm there was the cream check, and we got 50 cents for a dozen eggs.
Well, tomato soup is probably as good an indicator of inflation as 22 ammunition.
Trego's Mountain Ear 