Inflation

Considering wages can be amazing when you look at what our society live on in the past compared to what we consider the minimum standard of living now. Inflation has a huge impact on our daily lives, so to look at that we need to compare previous wages with current wages, keeping inflation in mind.

This exercise is particularly relevant to us now because of the teetering state that our economy is in. In 1938, the federal minimum wage was 25 cents. In 1968 it was $1.60. Currently it is up to $6.55 per hour, and will be $7.25 by July, 24, 2009.

Using the "Inflation Calculator" from the site Dollar Times, I found that the 25 cent minimum wage from 1938 has the same buying power as $3.72 in 2008.

The $1.60 wage in 1968 translates into a whopping $9.90 in 2008.

A story that could be written straight from these statistics could go a number of ways. The fact that 1938's standard of living was $3.72 could be something discussed in a story of how the Great Depression affected our culture, and how presently we're not that bad off.

Another story coming from the $9.90 converted wage from 1968, could be about inflation and how it affects our nation. There could be discussion of how the economy has suffered over the past few years, by looking at how 1968 translates into our market values.