Gold is considered to have relatively consistent value over time.
Median home price in 1940 Boston area was $3,600 or 180oz gold. Today the median home price is 215oz of gold in the same area (or $670,000). In terms of gold, house prices are up 20%. In terms of dollars, 18000%.
A new car still costs around 13oz of gold.
Real inflation of fiat is easy to obscure for political reasons. That’s much harder to do with the market value of gold.
In 1945, US GDP per capita was almost $1600. Using your conversion factors, that would be almost $150k today. The actual number is something like $85k. I don't think Americans are that much poorer today than they were 80 years ago.
In 1945 they had the gold standard at $35/oz so $27.50 would have been 0.7857 oz of gold currently worth $2540.
Is this a reasonable metric though? No one was buying books in 1945 with gold.
Gold is considered to have relatively consistent value over time.
Median home price in 1940 Boston area was $3,600 or 180oz gold. Today the median home price is 215oz of gold in the same area (or $670,000). In terms of gold, house prices are up 20%. In terms of dollars, 18000%.
A new car still costs around 13oz of gold.
Real inflation of fiat is easy to obscure for political reasons. That’s much harder to do with the market value of gold.
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It's a better metric than the estimate of the dollar inflation. Gold standard was in use until 1971
If I were selling books in Europe in 1945, I’d much prefer gold to Reichsmarks.
desilvering of coins was in the 1965 coin act.
So if they paid in dimes/quarters/ half dollars /dollars, they were paying in silver
All cash was convertible to gold at a fixed rate, so more or less they were
In 1945, US GDP per capita was almost $1600. Using your conversion factors, that would be almost $150k today. The actual number is something like $85k. I don't think Americans are that much poorer today than they were 80 years ago.
You’re starting to get into the theories of how they hide true inflation
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How is GDP per capita a useful measure in the presence of almost-trillionaires?
Depending on which city they sleep in, Bezos or Musk make all local citizens multimillionaires. Per capita. Statistically.
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In 1945 US citizens were banned from owning gold so the exchange rate was not really tethered to the common value of the dollar.
Gold is volatile. Two years ago it would have been half that.