Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
But a lot of consumer behaviours have increased dramatically across the board. Meals purchased outside the home have increased five-fold in the last 30 years. It isn’t just rich people going out to Earl’s, it’s 20-somethings who work in retail getting pho, schwarma, or pizza 5 days a week instead of bringing a bag lunch. Clothes used to be so expensive that people actually patched and mended them instead of picking up three new t-shirts for $20. Airplane vacations used to be an occasional indulgence of the affluent. I know some people still can’t afford them today, but a far broader segment of the population got on a plane to go somewhere hot for a vacation in 2018 than in 1982.
Most 30 year olds today would find the average standard of living in 1982 pretty dire. Everything except real estate and education was more expensive, less accessible, and came in far less variety. I’m not sure people really appreciate now dramatically discretionary consumer spending has increased in recent decades. The working class today eat at KFC and shop at Winner’s. 40 years ago they made tuna casserole last four days and most of their clothes were hand-me-downs.
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I don't think 1982 is as different as you make it out to be.
In May 1982 retail sales were totalled at $10.318B, or about $25.049B in today's dollars. In May 2021 retail sales were totalled at $53.8B.
Against population in today's dollars, that's about $1000 per person, per month in 1982 vs $1,415 per person, per month.
Consider the average weekly earning in 1982 was about $934 in today's dollars, and today it sits at around $1,200, it's really only a difference of people today spending 27% of their monthly income on retail and people of 1982 spending 25% of their monthly income on retail.
That means a person making $60,000 today but with retail spending habits like someone from 1982 would be spending about $100 less per month, or $1250 instead of $1350.
I'm not sure that's a dramatic difference over the course of 40 years. Things may have become cheaper in some respects, but other things have increased in price, things don't last as long, etc. etc.