I remember a time in my youth when money actually had some value left to it. When I was hired for my first job my pay rate was $4.25 an hour which was a good starting rate in 1991. I worked with a bunch of Polish nuns as a gardener at a retirement home and they treated me well, at least better than some of my bosses in later years. Now I'm making more than double that and finding it hard to make ends meet. Why? Because over the last 22 years the value of the dollar has declined sharply. In addition to this those of us left in the workforce find ourselves being taxed out of existence to support the mendacity of the welfare class, the so called "poor" of the nation who somehow seem to accrue more material goods than I can yet deign to call themselves poor.
This isn't a rant about the government, this is about money and what constitutes real money. Few of are left who remember when gold was money and there hasn't been silver money since 1964. Now we are left with an empty paper currency backed by worthless paper bought with paper... und so weiter. I know, I usually just stick with the recipes but I am about everything vintage from the hat on top of your head to the shoes on your feet, from the food you eat to the coins you use to pay for it. I would just like to be able to once in my life get ahead. I work in a grocer which back then was hardly middle class but being an assistant department manager was certainly heading towards middle class.
I am hardly a Paulite in my political leanings but you have to admit he has some good ideas when it comes to finance. Bring back silver money, even gold money, bring back dollar coins actually made of something with intrinsic value not brass. In short, bring back one of the things that made the vintage era so great, the ability to live a decent life with the pay you received.
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I know this is an older post but I couldn't help but feel the need to remark. I write a small blog about the depression era and comparing lifestyles, material goods and general information. While I agree with your general premise of the value of our money the other factor to consider is the overall lifestyle changes that have occurred in the last 50-100 years. My grandparents, who were considered middle class in their day, would now be rated at poverty level based upon the size of their home, income earned (converted to today's value) and material goods owned. In the 50's a home of 800-1200 sq. ft. was the standard for middle class tract homes in most parts of the country. I think that if people today were forced to live under the standards of living (financially) from the 1940's they would think they were being inhumanely treated.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your recipes. I also collect older cookbooks. My favorite is the Betty Crocker cookbook from 1950 that my mother gave me. My grandmother taught me to cook so most of what I know is depression era style cooking. I look forward to more posts from you.