Poll:- life better now or in 1959?

[JLM]

?? BS. Tax freedom day was what in 1959? March something? What is it today? Middle of June? 'Ah, whatta maroon" B. Bunny

Reminds me of a pay stub I rec'd 46 years ago, I started work on the 9th of the month (in those days we got paid once a month) at the end of the month the stub showed Income Tax- $28.15..............................F**k was I p*ssed off............................:lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

[JLM]

Being obese is a lifestyle choice, so a discussion about obesity now vs 1959 is no more worthwhile than comparing the options available on a Cadillac now and then.

Just in that it is a lot more prevalent now, and the cases are more extreme and medical costs are sky rocketing due to it. :lol::lol::lol:

 

[AnnaG]

Reminds me of a pay stub I rec'd 46 years ago, I started work on the 9th of the month (in those days we got paid once a month) at the end of the month the stub showed Income Tax- $28.15..............................F**k was I p*ssed off............................:lol::lol::lol::lol:

lol That's awful! I bet it really screwed up your trip to Hawaii. lol

 

[JLM]

I have a friend (and know several others) whose life style is severely hampered by diabetes. He has lost part of one foot and half his leg to gangrene as a direct result of diabetes. He has to be on dialysis at least three times a week because of kidney failure. He used to have to travel to Kelowna (a 4 hour drive) three times a week, A couple of years ago he got a home dialysis kit so now he doesn't have to make that drive any more. The prosthesis he has to wear causes a perpetual sores on his stump that make getting around more and more painful. It was excruciating to watch him leaving the coffee shop this morning. He used to be a very large man but now he has lost all his muscles (about 50 - 60 lbs) to inactivity.

What S.J. doesn't seem to realize is that you don't necessarily realize you have diabetes until you are very ill. My nephew at age 8 became very ill in a period of a few days and they damn near lost him before they were able to diagnose and my brother & his wife are very vigilant when it comes to their children's health. (to the point of being a pain in the ass most of the time)

 

[AnnaG]

Just in that it is a lot more prevalent now, and the cases are more extreme and medical costs are sky rocketing due to it. :lol::lol::lol:

I think the Canadian Medical Ass'n or someone projected that Canada would be spending between 70% and 75% of its annual budget on healthcare by 2020 (or was it 2025). WOOT! Partytime! Can we say 80%, 65%, 50%, and 35% income tax brackets? lol

 

[countryboy]

I certainly don't think that, but I am a firm believer that, overall, life today is better than in 1959.

You may have a different opinion, you're welcome to it.

Thank you. And I think you are welcome to yours too! I'm sure there are many who agree with you and I certainly respect their opinions too.

We all have different experiences so it is natural we would see things differently. After all, MOST of us are speaking about OUR OWN experiences, so there is no argument required or necessary.

Have a great Christmas!

 

[AnnaG]

Thank you. And I think you are welcome to yours too! I'm sure there are many who agree with you and I certainly respect their opinions too.

We all have different experiences so it is natural we would see things differently. After all, MOST of us are speaking about OUR OWN experiences, so there is no argument required or necessary.

Have a great Christmas!

Hey! Speak for yourself! I am not old enough to be speaking from my personal experiences in 1959.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

"As to the rest of the statistics, sorry, I can’t do the same work twice."

Which leaves me no alernative but to restate my opinion that life was better in '59 because - among all other reasons stated in this thread (and I see no reason to go back and find them) - debates among groups of adults were conducted with a higher degree of civility and respect for others' opinions and positions, shall we say, a "gentlemenly fashion."

Too bad we've lost that some of that human touch of warmth and kindness in '09.

Even if that is true (which I dispute), that doesn't mean that life was better in those days, countryboy.

 

[JLM]

lol That's awful! I bet it really screwed up your trip to Hawaii. lol

There was no trip to Hawaii and I haven't been since....................:lol::lol::lol:

 

[AnnaG]

There was no trip to Hawaii and I haven't been since....................:lol::lol::lol:

Yeah, I kinda thought that huge tax was enough to screw up any plans for Hawaii. lol

 

[SirJosephPorter]

Uh, I certainly agree with you on everything in your post, AnnaG, and most especially your point the neighborhood issue. There are many people in this country that are suffering from poverty, illness, discrimination of one kind or another, and a general feeling of suffering and despair. "Some people" think that our beloved Charter has addressed all our problems and everything in '09 is just ducky.

Mind you, when one only sees what they choose to see, it is impossible to get a fix on the reality of any situation. Or maybe it's just a case of "ignorance is bliss."

I see. And are you saying that there were no such neighborhoods 50 years ago, that all the blacks, Native Indians etc, were quite wealthy 50 years ago but all of a sudden became poor today? Or that even all the whites were quite wealthy 50 years ago, that there were no poor people 50 years ago?

Poverty, illness, discrimination have been with us since times immemorial and will be with us till the end of time. It is just that there is a lot less today than there was 50 years ago. The poor today live much better than they lived 50 years ago. Even the poor today have television, internet, cell phone etc., things that no poor (or indeed rich) had 50 years ago.

Again, look at the statistics, not personal opinions.

 

[lone wolf]

Look at what was invented, established ... and inexpensive.

You really should ask Santa for a cup of humility....

 

[SirJosephPorter]

6/half a dozen of the other. Some things are better, some worser. In 59 I was young, healthy and full of beans. Now I am a basket case!8O

Exactly Cliffy, you put your finger on it, that is exactly what Isaac Asimov said, as to why many old codgers insist that the good old days were so great, were almost a paradise, in spite of the overwhelming statistical evidence against it.

These people were in the prime of their life in the old days, the world was their oyster, the world was full of promises. They felt good about themselves, so they thought that the times were good for everybody. They blot out all the unpleasant memories, unpleasant experiences and have some idealized concept of the ’good old days’ in their mind.

Now, the body has grown old, it is squeaking, creaking, disillusionment has set in, they don’t feel in the prime of their life. So they also think that the world has gone to the dogs.

This is what Asimov hypothesized, and I fully agree with him.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

Reminds me of a pay stub I rec'd 46 years ago, I started work on the 9th of the month (in those days we got paid once a month) at the end of the month the stub showed Income Tax- $28.15..............................F**k was I p*ssed off............................:lol::lol::lol::lol:

You conveniently left out how much your salary was, JLM. It is a safe bet it was much lower than what you would earn today, even allowing for inflation.

 

[AnnaG]

Exactly Cliffy, you put your finger on it, that is exactly what Isaac Asimov said, as to why many old codgers insist that the good old days were so great, were almost a paradise, in spite of the overwhelming statistical evidence against it.

These people were in the prime of their life in the old days, the world was their oyster, the world was full of promises. They felt good about themselves, so they thought that the times were good for everybody. They blot out all the unpleasant memories, unpleasant experiences and have some idealized concept of the ’good old days’ in their mind.

Now, the body has grown old, it is squeaking, creaking, disillusionment has set in, they don’t feel in the prime of their life. So they also think that the world has gone to the dogs.

This is what Asimov hypothesized, and I fully agree with him.

Was it an hypothesis or just an observation?

 

[SirJosephPorter]

Just in that it is a lot more prevalent now, and the cases are more extreme and medical costs are sky rocketing due to it. :lol::lol::lol:

Quite so, but being a lifestyle choice, it is also reversible. So it is a stretch to claim that it has already reduced life expectancy, it has done nothing of the sort (at least I haven't seen any figures to that effect).

 

[SirJosephPorter]

What S.J. doesn't seem to realize is that you don't necessarily realize you have diabetes until you are very ill. My nephew at age 8 became very ill in a period of a few days and they damn near lost him before they were able to diagnose and my brother & his wife are very vigilant when it comes to their children's health. (to the point of being a pain in the ass most of the time)

Sometimes diabetes (especially juvenile diabetes) can go undiagnosed for a long time and it is indeed tragic when that happens. However, for adults, it can be detected during annual health checkup, everybody is entitled to a free annual health check up. If you have any history of diabetes in your family, the doctor will always order a blood sugar check.

Since my wife’s father had diabetes, she is watchful these days, to see if diabetes clicks on.

So in most cases it can be diagnosed early. But sometimes it is not revealed until too late, and such cases are indeed tragic.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

There was no trip to Hawaii and I haven't been since....................:lol::lol::lol:

Hawaii is a great place JLM, well worth a visit.

 

[JLM]

You conveniently left out how much your salary was, JLM. It is a safe bet it was much lower than what you would earn today, even allowing for inflation.

In the $300 range and I will conveniently add that bread was 20 cents a loaf, milk was 20 cents a quart, gasoline was 40 cents a gallon, a good pair of jeans was under $5.00. A brand new car was $3000.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

In the $300 range and I will conveniently add that bread was 20 cents a loaf, milk was 20 cents a quart, gasoline was 40 cents a gallon, a good pair of jeans was under $5.00. A brand new car was $3000.

OK JLM, let us compare. Today a brand new car would go for around 30,000 $, which is ten times the good old days. If you earned 300$ per month in those days, ten times that would be around 3000$ per month today. Would you earn more than that today? You probably would.

Average per capita income of Canada was 40,090 $ in 2008.

Economy of Canada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If you are any good at all, you would earn more that the average, which means somebody with reasonable education and experience should be able to draw around 45,000 $, no problem. This compares with the 300$ you were earning.

What this means is that even with car costing ten times as much, you can afford a new car more easily than you could 50 years ago.

Same with gas. While your salary would go up by a factor of more than 10, gas has gone up by a factor of less than 10. What this means is that gas is cheaper today than 50 years ago, relative to peoples' income.

Incidentally, same with milk and bread. Both are cheaper today than 50 years ago, relative to peoples' income.