tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post7163851464661006884..comments2024-03-28T17:53:43.541-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: Income Inequality: 1945 EditionDarwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-6394622832916439292012-02-24T08:14:16.909-05:002012-02-24T08:14:16.909-05:00Zanshin,
You know: I have no idea. That's a ...Zanshin,<br /><br />You know: I have no idea. That's a really interesting question.<br /><br />Don,<br /><br />Yeah. Especially on rent being cheaper I wanted to get into what a typical apartment was like then vs. now (smaller and with much less in the way of amenities) but while I know about it in terms of generalities (and things not invented yet) I wasn't sure where to lay my hands on solid info.<br /><br />BTW, just for kicks, I had to put Fred's $32/wk in 1945 into the inflation calculator, and it looks like he was making $59.39 to your dad's $60 -- but with no dependents. <br /><br />Of course, in the movie, Fred's problem is not so much serious poverty as that his wife, in particular, is used to his army pay and unwilling to adjust.Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-26291863685977976342012-02-24T06:56:52.805-05:002012-02-24T06:56:52.805-05:00My father as a factory worker was bringing home ab...My father as a factory worker was bringing home about sixty bucks a week circa 1967. Life was rather close to the bone for us, although bills were always paid, food on the table, roof over our heads, clothes on our back, etc, however, there were quite a few earning far less in our town of Paris, Illinois. I think we forget how people in the past managed to get by on less money, adjusted for inflation, than most people do today.Donald R. McClareyhttp://the-american-catholic.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-90365073856180877862012-02-24T01:44:52.551-05:002012-02-24T01:44:52.551-05:00Fascinating post. Thanks!
It left me with one unr...Fascinating post. Thanks!<br /><br />It left me with one unresolved question, though. How much would a veteran receive nowadays as a disability payment for the loss of hands due to war injuries?Zanshinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09191049348342595048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-89760858816190141872012-02-22T21:41:43.508-05:002012-02-22T21:41:43.508-05:00Glad you liked it, Jenny. I'm a sucker for th...Glad you liked it, Jenny. I'm a sucker for this kind of thing.Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-45462743177509076802012-02-22T21:41:06.155-05:002012-02-22T21:41:06.155-05:00EMS,
For what it's worth, I wrote a post usin...EMS,<br /><br />For what it's worth, I wrote a post using the Tax Foundation data to look at the taxes back in the "good old days" a while back:<br /><br />http://darwincatholic.blogspot.com/2011/01/rewinding-taxes-to-good-old-days.html<br /><br />Yeah, basically: All of the characters would have paid more in taxes then than they would now. (Fred most of all, since in this day and age he might well not owe any taxes and get the EITC instead.<br /><br />Arguably, taxes now are unsustainably low, unless we went back to a 1945 size government. but I do think that the current system is better in being more progressive than the 1945 version.Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-44135442396155832942012-02-22T20:43:05.102-05:002012-02-22T20:43:05.102-05:00Missing in your analysis were the tax rates they&#...Missing in your analysis were the tax rates they'd be paying. Tax foundation.org has all the tax rates from the beginning of income taxes, both normal and adjusted for inflation. Al's tax rate adjusted for inflation would have been 43%; the lowest tax rate was 20% for adjusted income up to $23,000. Mitt Romney would have been paying a tax rate of 90%. Pre-war, his rate would have been 70%. During the Depression, Romney would have been paying rates @ 60%. During WWI, he would have been in the 70+% brackets. Corporate tax rates were in the 40% brackets, and there was an excess profits tax as well. One of the biggest changes from those eras to today is that back then it was believed that wars should be paid for during the time they're being fought. I venture that another common belief was that those who benefited the most by living in this country should pay the most in taxes on their incomeEMSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-20650143029582851232012-02-21T14:33:49.664-05:002012-02-21T14:33:49.664-05:00I love this post!
I sometimes compare my father&...I love this post! <br /><br />I sometimes compare my father's income after graduate school to my current post-graduate income and it makes me sad. After working over five years, I still don't make what my father made straight after college. (Both technical fields and inflation adjusted)Jennynoreply@blogger.com