Just realized we were making about what the minimum wage is now in 1973

[NNN0LHI]

And that union job came with about the best medical coverage someone could have back then. Covered everything with no deductibles or co-pays. The phrase "pre-existing medical condition", had not even been invented yet.

I was still in high school when I started that job. Just turned 18 when I hired on. By the time I graduated high school I had 2 months seniority. Retired 30 years later. Lot of big industrial companies used to come to our high school to try and recruit us before we even graduated. You could take your pick. Imagine that?

What a difference a few decades can make.

Don

[asjr]

1. I will add to that--I fed a family of 5 on $30.00

a week and we did not starve.

[Indydem]

2. Well, not really.

If you were making $7.50 in 1973, and minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, you'd be making over $36/hour now.

That would mean over $72k annually, which in my parts, is a very good living. At 72k, you could afford very good health insurance and do very well (in my part of the country).

The real problem is our politicians sold us out and now no one would consider even $20 for minimum wage even reasonable.

[Trillo]

11. That's using the government inflation figures....

Have you checked out Shadow Stats Inflation calculator?
http://www.shadowstats.com/inflation_calculator?amount1=7.50&y1=1973&m1=10&y2=2011&m2=10&calc=Find+Out

Without being a subscriber, the bar height seems about 3-4 times higher than $37. What's that? About $111- $135 per hour? Seems like that's approaching CEO pay rate inflation levels. So, taking the more conservative figure, $111 per hour, x 40 hours per week x 50 weeks per year = $222,000 per year!

Still not high enough to be in the 1%, but at least one could afford a rather nice house, plenty of food, medical care, some charitable giving, some vacation time, etc....

[ThomWV]

3. Yeah, and they used to brag about how many bags of groceries $20 would buy.

[FreakinDJ]

4. What a difference a little Reaganomics can make

Glad we saved the Free World just so we could enslave our own working class

[JohnnyRingo]

5. When I started at GM in 1972, I was making about $6.50 an hour.

When I tell people that, they remind me "that was a lot of money back then". I'm always quick to point out that too many people still think it's a lot of money.

It's true we had full medical, including dental and vision. Prescriptions were $3, and the company thrived under those union wages and I was able to raise a family of five on my salary alone.

Back then a new Camaro cost $2500 in spartan dress and they flew off the showroom floor. Fast forward 30 years and I was in position to finally retire earning nearly four times that starting wage, and the public was fed the notion that I was grossly overpaid. Meanwhile, the cost of that new Camaro ballooned by a factor of ten during that timespan.

Sure, you get more in a car now since the car companies decided that stripped down base versions were unprofitable, but the point at which union wages became obscene occurred exactly when The Big Three discovered third world labor.

Recessions caused by an underpaid middle class are a corporate dream in that pleas for increased wages can be met with: "you're lucky to even have this job.

[NNN0LHI]

10. We didn't even have to pay the $3 dollar copay for our prescriptions

Our local union president negotiated with the area Walgreens to waive the prescription copay to get our business.

That extra added benefit sure came in handy having little kids who seemed like they were sick all the time.

Don

[durablend]

6. Far too much according to TPTB

Who think we should be thankful at the end of the day to not get a whipping, never mind being paid for a days work.

[justgamma]

7. This is what a lot of people don't get.

When I started my job in 1972, I made $2.32 an hour. We were on incentive the harder you worked, the more money you'd make. The more the company made on your labor, the bigger the raise you would get.

Now, the harder you work the more the bigwigs make. The workers are told to work harder for less.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

9. Yep.

We've had several people leave where I work, and none of them have been replaced. So, we're all doing the work of three people now. It's insane.

[fascisthunter]

12. Ding!

[elehhhhna]

8. all our wage increases went toHEALTH INSURANCE premiums

yes, also to the top managers, but those 5 to 12K increases in annual premium cost (depending on single vs. family coverage, average annual cost for a decent plan) in ten years equals no raises for the American worker.