A lot has happened in the past 50 years, not the least of which is inflation. Let's take a trip back to when "Johnny Stool Pigeon" was a film playing at the Roadium Drive-in, in 1957 for $1.20 a carload and a movie at the Strand's movie theater was only 50 cents. Nowadays drive-ins don't exist and let's not mention movie prices. Thrifty shoppers could look in the "Daily Breeze" (then sold for only a dime) a find great bargains such as men's suits for only $28. Now we would be lucky to find one shoe for $28 in today's market.
GAS PRICES WERE A QUARTER A GALLON! That needs to be said again. GAS PRICES WERE A QUARTER A GALLON! Twenty-five cents!!! Now when I think about filling up my tank, I want to go get a personal loan from the bank.
Let's go back and re-visit the movies. Going to the Rolling Hills Theater for a matinee was only $1.50, and the evening price was $2. Wait, I thought we agred NOT to talk about movie prices of 2008.
Now for all of us who worked in 1961 when minimum wage was$1.15, man we thought we were living on the high horse. Then they raised it to $1.40 in 1967 and we thought that was too much money to be paying those teenagers. Then the wage increased 20 cents a year later and stayed that way until 1974, when it hit the $2 mark. We were in a crisis. Who pays $2 an hour? Over the next few years the wage increased to 10, 20, and then 35 cents more, until finally in 1978 it hit $2.65. At this point were knew we were heading to a HUGE budget crisis.
Then the '80s came knocking on our door (in neon) and the wage skyrocketed to over $3.00, then it finally reached $3.35. If we knew then what we know now, I don't think we would have complained so much about the prices of anything. One South High student in 1982 actually commented once that "if the wages keep on increasing in this fast-paced manner, students in the future won't want to go to school." WRONG!
