4 ms·

Posting this will inevitably lead to present day comparisons. I kind of want to get ahead of the curve here and ask any HNers who were old enough to be working

Posting this will inevitably lead to present day comparisons. I kind of want to get ahead of the curve here and ask any HNers who were old enough to be working and spending money at the time what it was like. Would be valuable to hear present day comparisons from people who've experienced both.

wrycoder 3y ago
My first job in industry with my new physics degree was as a “Scientist I”, which paid $9000 per year in the late sixties. Shortly later, I bought a new Alfa Romeo for $5000. Outside my budget, but I really wanted one and never regretted it. By 1970, I had moved to the mid-Peninsula at double the salary.
AnimalMuppet 3y ago
I was just coming into adulthood. Not working yet, but privy to some of the financial calculations that my parents were making. It was hard to figure out what was a good economic idea. A bond with a 14% interest rate? Sounds great... but it's not, if inflation is 12% and you have to pay income tax on the gains, and it's worse if inflation heads to 14%. But what's better? I imagine that the rest of it wasn't any easier. Does it make sense to invest in that new factory? I imagine that it's hard to get an answer you're sure of when inflation is going crazy. People who weren't there are shocked at 7% inflation for a year. I'm like "meh". The Fed is on top of it. They aren't over-reacting, and they aren't ignoring it. And, a Fed rate of 5%? I remember when it went to 20%. Now get off my lawn. (Wow, do I feel old making this post.)
- detourdog 3y ago
  We are probably close in age and what I remember was that everybody in our Central Pennsylvania town was more or less equal. The janitors at Bethlehem Steel were making good wages and people were investing extra money instead of spending it. The 1980 election between Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and John Anderson was a big turning point. George H.W. Bush was running against Reagan for the Republican nomination. Reagan's economic policy was described as voodoo economics by Bush. Once Reagan was elected it was like a light switch was flipped and a portion of the town became rich and the Bethlehem Steel closed and there was a slow decline in the blue collar class.

wrycoder 3y ago

My first job in industry with my new physics degree was as a “Scientist I”, which paid $9000 per year in the late sixties. Shortly later, I bought a new Alfa Romeo for $5000. Outside my budget, but I really wanted one and never regretted it. By 1970, I had moved to the mid-Peninsula at double the salary.

AnimalMuppet 3y ago

I was just coming into adulthood. Not working yet, but privy to some of the financial calculations that my parents were making. It was hard to figure out what was a good economic idea. A bond with a 14% interest rate? Sounds great... but it's not, if inflation is 12% and you have to pay income tax on the gains, and it's worse if inflation heads to 14%. But what's better? I imagine that the rest of it wasn't any easier. Does it make sense to invest in that new factory? I imagine that it's hard to get an answer you're sure of when inflation is going crazy. People who weren't there are shocked at 7% inflation for a year. I'm like "meh". The Fed is on top of it. They aren't over-reacting, and they aren't ignoring it. And, a Fed rate of 5%? I remember when it went to 20%. Now get off my lawn. (Wow, do I feel old making this post.)

detourdog 3y ago
We are probably close in age and what I remember was that everybody in our Central Pennsylvania town was more or less equal. The janitors at Bethlehem Steel were making good wages and people were investing extra money instead of spending it. The 1980 election between Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and John Anderson was a big turning point. George H.W. Bush was running against Reagan for the Republican nomination. Reagan's economic policy was described as voodoo economics by Bush. Once Reagan was elected it was like a light switch was flipped and a portion of the town became rich and the Bethlehem Steel closed and there was a slow decline in the blue collar class.