I love “Turner Classic Movies,” and a few days ago, a 1933 film called “Blessed Event” came on, and it was really funny. It was a take-off of the late Walter Winchell, if any of you are old enough to remember him. If not, he was a radio and newspaper columnist who was famous for his outlandish statements, which often time got him into real legal trouble. The main character in “Blessed Event,” was an outrageous columnist of the Winchell cast, who, before he became famous, said, ”I’ve worked three years to get to twenty five bucks a week.” That really fascinated me, so I looked up consumer prices of 1933, and here are the prices of a few items in 1933.
Gasoline: ten cents a gallon.
Average yearly wage: $1550
Loaf of bread: 7 cents
Hamburger: 11 cents a pound
New Plymouth car: $445
Not to bore you, but the stuff above is still available to buy, except possibly the Plymouth car, but a Ford would probably be the same price. Same hamburger, gasoline, bread, etc, and still purchased with official U.S. dollars. In 1933, there were no credit cards, food stamps, or welfare of any kind, even though FDR was soon to begin welfare. Radio was beginning to catch on, but TV was still 25 years away. No automatic transmissions, power brakes, power steering, air conditioning, electric windows, solid state ignition, or fuel injection on cars. We’ve come a long way in all sectors of our lives, which are far more convenient and easier now than in 1933. In 1933, homes had no air conditioning, were usually heated by coal, and things like snow blowers, automatic washers and dryers, frozen foods, microwave ovens, foam rubber, computers, etc. were not even dreamed of then. We’re really blessed with modern inventions and conveniences! We still use the same paper dollars to purchase the above, only the coins are no longer silver, nor are pennies still made of copper.
Dollars are mostly the same, with a few variations, only they buy less than 5% of what they did in 1933. There are those who say that the buck is doomed, and will eventually become worthless. It already has become virtually worthless! We still use them, and the legal tender laws say we must use them to purchase things.
There is a very popular radio talk show, called “The Dave Ramsey Show,” and I think he is on hundreds of stations. He’s a good Christian fellow, probably about 70 years old, has a great voice and is super intelligent with a personality to go with it. He deals with current economics, and people call in and tell him their problems. His advice is mostly excellent. He urges being debt free, and his advice on money matters is good, except he doesn’t believe in gold or silver as savings devices. He never mentions the inflation we have had over the years, and never reminisces about consumer prices of old.
He either doesn’t realize that the buck has lost over 95% of its value, and is a lousy way to store surplus assets, or mentioning it would conflict with some of his sponsors. He must surely realize that gold and silver are the best way to store wealth, since they are not beholden to any government for value, but are, and have been, real money for thousands of years, and will continue to be so. I don’t need Dave’s advice, since I am debt free, and save in gold and silver. As I write this on Friday, 12/5, the stock market is down close to 2,000 points. I have no stocks, but millions of IRAs are in stocks, even though they could be in gold and silver. Gold and silver are up. One of my favorite replies to people who ask me when gold and silver will go up is, “If I knew what was going to happen ten minutes from now, I’d be the richest SOB on earth.” Long term, of course I can tell you, and that is ‘up,’ with no reservations. Long term, all un-backed paper currencies, which is 100% of them, will go to zero. No question about that, so spend your dollars for what you need and want, and save in gold and silver! It’s all very simple. 85 years from now, consumer prices will have risen ten times what they have in the last 85 years…assuming we are around to witness the utter destruction. – Don Stott. 1-888-786-8822