How to calculate the cost of things in the Golden Era

[reetpleat]

One big factor with real estate is supply and demand and the amount of money people make. A lot of people live in LA, and a lot of them make a lot of money, driving up the price of a limited supply.

Another big change is the price of food. it is much lower while the cost of housing is much higher.

the government still uses the same old calculator for poverty levels. this throws things off due to the high cost of housing, while the index is based on the price of food.

 

[Widebrim]

For things like finding todays approximate cost of a 1940's $10 hat or $28 suit, they give a pretty good reference. But, as Lincsong found when he calculated the cost of his parents house, the dollar value had little real "coherent" meaning.

Yeah, I think it was pretty accurate estimating today's cost for my father's DB, 1946 suit ($25 compared to $272). However, as has been stated here and in other threads, a suit of that quality couldn't be produced at today's equivalent price tag.