Did they really have it better? www.ClassicCarCommunity.com Newsletter 9.22.2009

In This Issue Did they really have it better? Quick Links Bookstore Sell Your Car Ask the Experts Calendar Girl Contest! $1000 Grand Prize! Classic Car Community is looking for the next Classic Car Calendar Girl.  This contest is open to all members.  Submit your poses with your favorite classic and you could be chosen to represent your community on the first of many calendars to come. More Here! 2009 Best Ride Contest! Win $500 in Gas! Think you have the  best wheels on the road?  Well put your classic car up to the test in the Community's Best Ride Contest. Submit a story stating why you think your ride rules the rest and you'll be entered to win a $500 gas card. Sign up here.

Did they really have it better? A while back I was hanging out with my aunt and uncle and my Aunt Nonnie (italiano, si?) made an interesting statement, “When I was young, everything was so simple and so affordable.  I have no idea how you kids are going to make it out there.  I mean $15 for a hair cut?  Get outta here.”  That’s how it all started.  I walked in looking so darn handsome with my hair shorter and Aunt Nonnie took notice.  With that statement it got me thinking.  Was it really easier back then?  Was it really cheaper?  So, I started asking questions and did some research. Everybody has heard the old guy on the bench yelling that “a gallon of gas was 25 cents back in my day…and a bottle of Coke cost only a nickel.”  I say, it’s all relative. The other day I was reading an article and again, the author was citing that it was so much easier back in the day.  He mentioned that cars were simple to work on and if one gave you a problem, you could just pop the hood and know exactly what went wrong.  On the other hand, what if the cars never went wrong?  I mean, the younger generations don’t have to pop the hood for at least 100,000 miles in today’s cars.  In my opinion, the fact that cars were simpler back then doesn’t make for a good argument about it being easier back then. Back to Aunt Nonnie.  I asked Aunt Nonnie, “Aunt Nonn, what did you make back then?”  “Me and Uncle Sal made $3000 a year” she replied.  “Uncle Sal, what was your first car and how much was it?” “I bought a friggen ’54 Pontiac for friggen 24 hundred dolla’s.”  “And how much was the house in Freehold?” “We paid $15,000 brand new!”  Then I started comparing. When I graduated in 1996, I got a job with a starting salary of $22,000 a year.  I bought a “reliable” car, a 1991 Mustang LX 5.0 convertible for $10,250.  And I remember homes in Anthem, AZ selling for $120,000.  I know what you are thinking, “see, smarty pants, it was easier back then, $10k for a 5 year old car?”  Hold your horses there Tonto.  Let’s look at it in percentages.  My 5 year old car was 50% of my annual salary.  If Uncle Sal made 75% of the $3000 a year combined, then he would have made $2250 a year and the ’54 Pontiac would have been over 107% of his salary.  So, if I bought a new 1996 Mustang 4.6 liter convertible, which ran close to $25k, when I graduated, that would have been 108% of my salary.  Let’s call that a tie. As for the homes, $15,000 in 1954 was 6 times the salary of Uncle Sal.  In 1996, $120,000 was 5 times the salary I made.  Do we dare say that a brand new home in 1996 was relatively cheaper than a brand new home in 1954?  Can it be? Now I know all you lawyer types are saying, “Well Joseph, you were a college graduate and your Uncle Sal was a graduate from the school of hard knocks.  There is the difference.”  And I would have to agree with you.  However, now-a-days a college degree is not what it used to be and person who enter the workforce 4 years earlier than I did is probably making more than my entry level salary.   So, why do we always keep hearing of how it used to be so cheap back in the day?  A loaf of bread was 2 pennies, a carton of milk was 5 cents and a stick of butter was 3 cents.  A loaf of bread, carton of milk and a stick of butter…loaf of bread, carton of milk and a stick of butter.  Heck that Sesame Street saying hasn’t even changed over the years! So, what changed?  I will let you know in about 30 years. I guess I will know that answer when I get to that age and run outside and tell those darn kids to “GET OFF MY LAWN!”