Sunday, February 6, 2011

Monies Worth & Stylish


My blogging friend, Julia, of Henhouse Pottery, has given me the Stylish Blogger Award. If you haven't visited Julia's blog, you're in for a real treat. Humor and sensibility meet hometown values and living off the land in what can only be described as Julia's own special way. So go have a good read.

For the award, I must tell seven things about myself which you may not know and give the award to fifteen people. I'll have to break up the post into several if I may. Today I've tucked in a few things you may not know. Later I'll get around to more about me and fifteen bloggers to spread some style.

My gut told me I was richer in 1974 than now. According to the Federal Minimum Wage statistics my money was worth more then than now. That was the year I graduated from college. But the year I graduated from high school, 1968, was even better. Here are the facts from infoplease.com.

Column one and four are years, column two and five are the minimum wage at the time, column three and six is what the wage was worth at the time. I found these statistics, along with others I perused, very enlightening.

1955 0.75 4.39 1983 3.35 5.28
1956 1.00 5.77 1984 3.35 5.06
1957 1.00 5.58 1985 3.35 4.88
1958 1.00 5.43 1986 3.35 4.80
1959 1.00 5.39 1987 3.35 4.63
1960 1.00 5.30 1988 3.35 4.44
1961 1.15 6.03 1989 3.35 4.24
1962 1.15 5.97 1990 3.80 4.56
1963 1.25 6.41 1991 4.25 4.90
1964 1.25 6.33 1992 4.25 4.75
1965 1.25 6.23 1993 4.25 4.61
1966 1.25 6.05 1994 4.25 4.50
1967 1.40 6.58 1995 4.25 4.38
1968 1.60 7.21 1996 4.75 4.75
1969 1.60 6.84 1997 5.15 5.03
1970 1.60 6.47 1998 5.15 4.96
1971 1.60 6.20 1999 5.15 4.85
1972 1.60 6.01 2000 5.15 4.69
1973 1.60 5.65 2001 5.15 4.56
1974 2.00 6.37 2002 5.15 4.49
1975 2.10 6.12 2003 5.15 4.39
1976 2.30 6.34 2004 5.15 4.28
1977 2.30 5.95 2005 5.15 4.14
1978 2.65 6.38 2006 5.15 4.04
1979 2.90 6.27 2007 5.85 4.41
1980 3.10 5.90 2008 6.55
1981 3.35 5.78 2009 7.25
1982 3.35 5.78

Most jobs available now pay minimum wage. Wonder what 2008 forward will be? There are many more statistics available on the Internet, not sure what good they do me, or if validating my feelings about present day monetary circumstances is beneficial, but in life today for so many people, these are, unfortunately, the facts. I'm just saying.

For the record, so far I'm not a pessimist, used to be an optimist, but am now a realist who wavers between optimism and pessimism. Stay tuned for more tidbits about me, some stylish blogs, and some real positives. Comments welcome.

8 comments:

  1. I really like the new header.My first job paid 75 cents an hour.It's not much now and it wasn't much then either.

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  2. I remember making 3.75 an hour and my last job outside the pottery was in a plastics factory at 5.15 an hour.

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  3. My first job paid $.10 an hour. Ok that was baby sitting. First real job was a dollar an hour plus all I could eat.

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  4. Congrats on your award. Interesting stats there!

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  5. So you changed the design on your blog too. It's taking me so long to figure out how this blogspot stuff works. Like how yours looks!

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  6. i like the backdrop design on your blog. Wow.. looking very stylish indeed!

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  7. Hi Dennis, thanks, but those dollars were worth more back then, could buy you more.

    Hi Meredith, thanks, effectivly that money back then gave you more purchasing power.

    Hi Patti, thanks, You were able to buy more with that money years ago.

    Hi Simone, thanks, in the next post I've given your blog an award.

    Hi Amy, thanks, I've wanted to change I just dreaded thinking it would be difficult and it was so easy I couldn't believe it. I think photos look better with a darker background though, but maybe that's just my tiree eyes.

    Hi Anne, thanks, I am still getting used to this colorful template, not sure I can get used to it as I think photos look better with a darker background especially pottery.

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  8. My first job paid $3.75 per hour, which seemed like a lot at the time, especially since there was free chocolate involved. Thanks for sending folks over to my blog!

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I love suggestions, questions, critiques, thanks for your comment