Productivity gains seem to parallel this loss of wealth. Because of the debt trap, industry is always looking to produce more for less, We are much less wealthy but it is temporarily hidden by slave wages and robotics.
That makes sense, Matt. Just remember that the end game for acquiring wealth and power is "assets." The "money game" is a means to shift ownership of assets. Manipulating money (changing the rules of a made-up game) is the most effective and convenient method of advancing the game. Wealth and power concentrate, by design. That's the fundamental problem. Money is a tool.
This is a very interesting comparison. The comparison is based on the historical and present prices of gold. To determine whether the $3000 annual salary in 1910 would be equivalent to $450,000 today, I think one would have to look at the comparative buying power of each amount. Could a dollar in 1910 buy what one hundred fifty dollars could today? I would hazard a guess, the 1910 dollar would conservatively buy what fifty would today; in which case a tax-free $150,000 ($3000 X $150) would indeed be a pretty decent salary for a junior engineer, and if your ~$80,000 is correct, then it would be almost twice as much as today; and tax-free. There is the hazard pay factor I suppose, so if the canal were being built today, even junior engineers might get more than the $80K. But if a 1910 buck would buy what 150 would today, well then you would be right on the money :)
Great write-up. Same goes in 1914 when Ford upped the pay to $5/day for factory workers. Imagine earning an ounce of gold every 4 days. At today’s prices, $3400+/- each week.
Something has gone terribly wrong.
I bet if I calculated it out, I have lost 50% of my pay since 2000 in inflation adjusted terms. I’m in engineering and my pay really hasn’t increased much in that time so there is that too.
Now I feel lucky being able to buy a silver eagle each week.
Fascinating! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
The American middle class, which is the 60% of Americans in the middle quintiles, earned about 60% of annual income per year up until the 1960s when it started changing. It is now about 26%. We are losing our middle class and it’s ironic that Trump is negotiating our shopping ability as part of his tariff deal making. Who’s going to buy since we keep whittling away at the middle class?
Also ironic, if we add a one percent wealth tax to the top 5% earners in any year, we will eliminate the deficit and stabilize government spending for Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and other programs. If it were just 2%, we could begin rebuilding the middle class and paying down the debt. If we are truly good capitalists who understand that the nature of capitalism is to concentrate wealth, this economic rebalancing would make sense to us, and we would act on it.
Hi Appreciate your article. I am not a specialist of currency’s value or a financial guy, but the above article in my opinion would provide more value, if the other side of a man’s budget namely the living costs would be included: E.g. transportation. A Ford Model T was worth 13 oz of gold in 1908. Just a thought.
Wonder what a comparison with say, the building of the Boulder Dam, the Alaska oil pipeline. Or the ‘wall’ along the southern border would show? Some homework for you? All the best.
I caught most of a pop-up conversation between Alex Krainer & Efrat Fenigson this morning.
Intersect here is that machinations, including central banks fiat diktats, & everything else that has not been new under the sun for a very long time, were going full tilt boogie back in the good old hard money days, too.
Krainer pointed that out. And then poured some sweetened condensed milk … lots of optimismesmerists in this space.
Hard money does not do much of anything about soft people. Including relatively soft people.
Clay is clay & even if it could be alchemised golden, & even if that trick could be done inexpensively, hard money now/then soft/common as beach sand would still be just as littered with claymation claymores go boom & quiet little tucked aways in Uruguays or other long, long aways would be 24k’s.
At a macro level, there's a theft going on. I suspect the heist is not studied in university economics courses. Instead of dollars as a metric, how about a ratio of dollars leaving the economy vs. dollars going in?
I repeat this example from Canada, since it gives a giant clue. In year 2000, Statistics Canada reported that the federal government had paid out $16 for every $1 it had borrowed since 1867, when Canada was born. And yet a large debt still remained. Most countries experience these ratios of money leaving the economy, compared to what is left behind.
1-The vast majority of asset wealth in the USA is owned by less than 10% of the population I believe.
2-The debasement of the currency in dollar terms has benefited the paper wealth of the asset owners and crushed the rest.
3- Using historical data from your examples in 1910 with Gold at $20 / ounce, and calculating to today's spot price of gold which is approximately $3,300 / ounce, leads me logically to interpret both paper assets and the physical assets purchased with paper assets are in fact overpriced by at least 165X.
Let that sink in folks when you look at the price of houses, cars, etc.
It's either that or think of your level of financial comfort if you were paid equivalent wages today in gold.
This should be a wake up call to everyone why the correction is coming and who should benefit from it. If the wealthy take it all in this engineered crash, don't be surprised if you see guillotines and gallows being set up in the village square as the peasants don't have anymore that can be stolen from them. They therefore have nothing left to lose.
Productivity gains seem to parallel this loss of wealth. Because of the debt trap, industry is always looking to produce more for less, We are much less wealthy but it is temporarily hidden by slave wages and robotics.
That makes sense, Matt. Just remember that the end game for acquiring wealth and power is "assets." The "money game" is a means to shift ownership of assets. Manipulating money (changing the rules of a made-up game) is the most effective and convenient method of advancing the game. Wealth and power concentrate, by design. That's the fundamental problem. Money is a tool.
This is a very interesting comparison. The comparison is based on the historical and present prices of gold. To determine whether the $3000 annual salary in 1910 would be equivalent to $450,000 today, I think one would have to look at the comparative buying power of each amount. Could a dollar in 1910 buy what one hundred fifty dollars could today? I would hazard a guess, the 1910 dollar would conservatively buy what fifty would today; in which case a tax-free $150,000 ($3000 X $150) would indeed be a pretty decent salary for a junior engineer, and if your ~$80,000 is correct, then it would be almost twice as much as today; and tax-free. There is the hazard pay factor I suppose, so if the canal were being built today, even junior engineers might get more than the $80K. But if a 1910 buck would buy what 150 would today, well then you would be right on the money :)
Great write-up. Same goes in 1914 when Ford upped the pay to $5/day for factory workers. Imagine earning an ounce of gold every 4 days. At today’s prices, $3400+/- each week.
Something has gone terribly wrong.
I bet if I calculated it out, I have lost 50% of my pay since 2000 in inflation adjusted terms. I’m in engineering and my pay really hasn’t increased much in that time so there is that too.
Now I feel lucky being able to buy a silver eagle each week.
Fascinating! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com
The American middle class, which is the 60% of Americans in the middle quintiles, earned about 60% of annual income per year up until the 1960s when it started changing. It is now about 26%. We are losing our middle class and it’s ironic that Trump is negotiating our shopping ability as part of his tariff deal making. Who’s going to buy since we keep whittling away at the middle class?
Also ironic, if we add a one percent wealth tax to the top 5% earners in any year, we will eliminate the deficit and stabilize government spending for Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and other programs. If it were just 2%, we could begin rebuilding the middle class and paying down the debt. If we are truly good capitalists who understand that the nature of capitalism is to concentrate wealth, this economic rebalancing would make sense to us, and we would act on it.
Nice write up
Great article, thanks
Hi Appreciate your article. I am not a specialist of currency’s value or a financial guy, but the above article in my opinion would provide more value, if the other side of a man’s budget namely the living costs would be included: E.g. transportation. A Ford Model T was worth 13 oz of gold in 1908. Just a thought.
Excellent analysis. I shared it .
Wow. SHOCKING!!! Thanks for the interesting read...
Matt, Great read, thanks.
Wonder what a comparison with say, the building of the Boulder Dam, the Alaska oil pipeline. Or the ‘wall’ along the southern border would show? Some homework for you? All the best.
Well written, Matt. It was a very sobering read and really put into perspective how little people make these days in real terms.
I agree with Brian. Thanks Matt
I caught most of a pop-up conversation between Alex Krainer & Efrat Fenigson this morning.
Intersect here is that machinations, including central banks fiat diktats, & everything else that has not been new under the sun for a very long time, were going full tilt boogie back in the good old hard money days, too.
Krainer pointed that out. And then poured some sweetened condensed milk … lots of optimismesmerists in this space.
Hard money does not do much of anything about soft people. Including relatively soft people.
Clay is clay & even if it could be alchemised golden, & even if that trick could be done inexpensively, hard money now/then soft/common as beach sand would still be just as littered with claymation claymores go boom & quiet little tucked aways in Uruguays or other long, long aways would be 24k’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f46JMzVzSB4
https://www.efrat.blog/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Mesmer
Well-named Cashill vs Clay Δ to Ali:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIZjbWbssWI
Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
And did I hear you say, he was a-meeting you here today
To take you to his mansion in the sky?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5SOZ_6sHFY
Gold being hard money, can be rented out at interest, which I think you allude to.
At a macro level, there's a theft going on. I suspect the heist is not studied in university economics courses. Instead of dollars as a metric, how about a ratio of dollars leaving the economy vs. dollars going in?
I repeat this example from Canada, since it gives a giant clue. In year 2000, Statistics Canada reported that the federal government had paid out $16 for every $1 it had borrowed since 1867, when Canada was born. And yet a large debt still remained. Most countries experience these ratios of money leaving the economy, compared to what is left behind.
Excellent and timely piece Matt.
One thing that is apparent that we do know:
1-The vast majority of asset wealth in the USA is owned by less than 10% of the population I believe.
2-The debasement of the currency in dollar terms has benefited the paper wealth of the asset owners and crushed the rest.
3- Using historical data from your examples in 1910 with Gold at $20 / ounce, and calculating to today's spot price of gold which is approximately $3,300 / ounce, leads me logically to interpret both paper assets and the physical assets purchased with paper assets are in fact overpriced by at least 165X.
Let that sink in folks when you look at the price of houses, cars, etc.
It's either that or think of your level of financial comfort if you were paid equivalent wages today in gold.
This should be a wake up call to everyone why the correction is coming and who should benefit from it. If the wealthy take it all in this engineered crash, don't be surprised if you see guillotines and gallows being set up in the village square as the peasants don't have anymore that can be stolen from them. They therefore have nothing left to lose.
Have a great day everyone!!