Looking To The Next 50 Years, What Can We Expect?

What can we expect in the next 50 years? Can we look at our past

history and predict the future from that? Let's do a little

statistical comparisons and see what we can come up with.

In the mid 50's when the minimum wage was begun, it started out

at .50 cents per hour. Today the minimum wage is $5.25 per hour,

a ten fold increase. Projecting that over the next 50 years with

approximately the same inflation rates gives you a minimum wage of

better than $50.00 per hour, with a 40 hour work week, that will give

you over $110,000.00 per year minimum wage. Whew!!!

What about your purchasing power? In the 50's you could buy a

"basic" new car for $1,500.00 to $2,000.00. The same "basic" car

today will cost $15,000.00 to 20,000.00, a tenfold increase in price,

staying with the increase in minimum wage. To project that over the

next 50 years will put the price of your "basic" auto at

$150,000.00 to $200,000.00.

What about housing? I remember some friends buying a new

2 bedroom brick home in 1960 for $15,000.00. That same size

house today will cost between $100,000.00 and $150,000.00,

depending on the location, a seven to ten fold increase. Let's take

the lower rate and projecting that ahead will give you a cost of

$700,000.00 for a simple 2 bedroom brick home.

What hasn't gone up so drastically? Most groceries have gone up

only three fold to five fold, with a few items going up more, making

groceries the best buy on the market. Maybe that is why so many

of us are overweight, have high cholesterol and heart disease.

We have taken a look at the next 50 years based on a historical repeat

of the past 50 years, but history also gives us a totally

different scenero. Let's go back 70 years instead of just 50 years.

This takes us back to the stock market crash of '29.

This means going back to ground zero and starting

everything over from scratch.

So, which will it be? History gives us choices, but will we make the

right one. The world, humanity, is in a constant flux, nothing stands

still. Do we go forward at a slow even pace, rush forward at breakneck

speed, slide backward slowly, or go crashing to the bottom all at once?

The ideal situation to me would be what I call the rocking chair effect,

that is, to go forward slightly, then slide back a little and then go forward

again, making small gains over a longer period of time.

John Watson

cuturl('http://buckcreek.tripod.com/')

POST COMMENT

Solar Panels and Wind Turbines - Build Your Own And Save On Your Energy Bill A Way of Life: Toxicity in Our Environment and Eco-friendly Cleaning Products The Advantages of TV Looking To The Next 50 Years, What Can We Expect? Conserving Gasoline Colexon partners up with DCM on 12MW of solar projects New Villas In Gurgaon +91 9811 999 666 New Projects Gurgaon Five New Must Have Kitchen Utensils A Proper Intervention Can Make The Addict Breathe New Life Take A Look At Top Mortgage Loans, Dispose Of The New Home Worry The New Cuban Revolution How To Hire The Best New York Limousine Service Provider? Moving In To A New Place