Disposable Income Went South in the Mid 1990's

[Angstrom]

Some, but not most. The housing market has been over inflated for a while, according to what I've read. That is one example.

I will give you another. Gas prices have kept pace with wages. 1972. When I started driving, gas was the equivalent of .08/litre. Now it's 1.03/litre. That is an increase of 1300%. When gas was .08/litre, I was earning $.90/hr. Minimum wage. Minimum wage is now $11.25 close to 1300%. But in January, the minimum wage will be $14/hr. Close to 1700%.

Hamburger has gone from .49/lb in 1972 to 2.50/lb. A 500% increase. That's better than gas.

We would have to examine incomes at a given point in time and all the expenses you would have had then. We would have to repeat the exercise for right now. It would be case by case.

You can go ahead and waste you’re time.

Both my parents purchased their homes in the 1990’s on their single incomes. while smoking cigarettes by the carton and active social lives every weekend.

Today people don’t smoke, drink, or go out and they barely pay their bills with two incomes.

 

[Murphy]

I wasn't going to bother.

In these two examples, we can see two things. First, gas rose at the same rate as income - 1300%, - using minimum wage as the benchmark. Secondly, in the same time period, hamburger, a food, rose by only 500%.

I suggest that if there is a pattern, we have to go back several generations to see if disposable income dropped within the past 20 years, or if this is an ongoing thing.

I am certain that the various schools of economics have studied this.

 

[Retired_Can_Soldier]

Hoof has a point.

 

[Bar Sinister]

Few companies or their owners are getting rich outside of the computer related businesses. It is more that government pay levels are out of sync with the real world. Especially at the municipal level.

I really would like to see some proof of that statement. I did a search for it and couldn't find any. I did find lots of articles describing the decline in the wealth of the middle class in the last three decades, such as this one. I suspect that concentration of wealth in the top 20% is to blame for the decline of the middle class. After all there is only so much wealth to go around.

Canada leading ranks of shrinking middle class

Canada leading ranks of shrinking middle class | Financial Post

 

[Danbones]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sagewo...e-10-most-profitable-industries/#341cb69d15f0

I posted a picture for BAR because he needs them.

Well as TS said: pretty much computer related.
BTW: It was the first link at the top of the google page.

You can see where the middle classe's money is going well enough.

 

[mentalfloss]

My Liberal friends tell me..."Yeah! But do you know how much a TV would cost if it weren't for Free Trade??"

To which i reply...

"Yeah. But nobody would give a rat if everyone was making 70k per year."

Then they usually turn red, shut up and have no reply.

You were/are a teacher aren't you Murph?

100k per year...all Summer off...Christmas holidays, March Break, PD days, all of the Stat holidays, plus sick days.

You won the lottery. Any thoughts on this subject coming from you are skewed in my opinion.

Your liberal friends are conservatives?

 

[Bar Sinister]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sagewo...e-10-most-profitable-industries/#341cb69d15f0

I posted a picture for BAR because he needs them.

Well as TS said: pretty much computer related.
BTW: It was the first link at the top of the google page.

You can see where the middle classe's money is going well enough.

I think you better explain what this chart means relative to the decline of the middle class, since it has nothing to do with middle class incomes. Maybe you could include a picture to help your understanding as well.