TechIntersect

Fifty years ago, my grandmother Vivian used to come into town from the farm every week or so to trade milk and eggs for other groceries she needed to feed her family. Things were different back then. People were not nearly as mobile as they are today so people did most of their business with local merchants. There simply weren’t as many options available to the average consumer as there are today.

One option that was available back then was sending away through mail order catalogs. I recently obtained a 1954-55 Montgomery Wards fall and winter catalog because I wanted to see what things people were buying fifty years ago. What fun! The diversity of what was sold through mail order by a single company back then is astounding. Everything from clothing to car engines. I even found a Geiger counter you could use in case you survived a Soviet nuclear attack! If the local economy didn’t offer something needed, you could certainly find it in the Wards catalog.

It was really interesting to see the prices that people paid for the various items. A quick look really emphasizes the change that our economy has undergone over the years. In 1954, according to census.gov, the average rural family annual income was around $2,000. I took a sample of various items from the catalog to see how the cost might compare to similar items purchased today. Here are some of the things I looked at:

1954 Item Price Percent of Income
Rebuilt Studebaker engine $200 10%
Geiger Counter $130 6.5%
Girl's wool skirt $5 0.25%
Men’s Leather Oxford Shoes $10 0.5%
17" B&W Television $135 6.75%

For comparison, the average 2006 household income in my town was around $28,000. Here are some similar items I found with current pricing and percentage of income.

2007 Item Price Percent of Income
Rebuilt Ford Taurus engine $1400 5%
Geiger Counter $400 1.4%
Girl's wool skirt $75 0.27%
Men’s Leather Oxford Shoes $130 0.46%
LCD TV $300 1%

While this is not a scientific study, almost everything I found costs a lower percentage of the family income today than it did fifty years ago. There are a number of reasons for this, including increased family earnings and lower manufacturing costs, especially in the electronics and clothing that are now imported from abroad.

Sometime, I will look into the cost of other items such as a gallon of gas, a new home, a new car. I suspect the trends will hold and things are actually less expensive today when adjusted for inflation and household income.

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