August 16, 2006 at 8:04 p.m.
Do things seem expensive? Here’s why!
Do things seem expensive? Here’s why!
After he won the British Open recently by keeping his driver secured in his bag, Tiger Woods won his 50th tournament as a professional August 6 at the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Number 50 came at the age of 30. Jack Nicklaus held the previous mark by winning his 50th at the age of 33.
$$$$$$$$$$Inflation$$$$$$$$$$
Does it seem that the price of things has really gotten out of hand? It’s hard to judge the value of things from place to place to or time to time. The only way that makes any sense to me is to compare the cost of stuff to the amount of time it takes to earn enough money to buy it.
Last weekend, I was talking to my mother-in-law about the lot she bought on a lake in Northern Minnesota in 1944. (Yes, this is the same mother-in-law who refers to me as her “Second favorite son-in-law”.....My only explanation is that her other son-in-law must be one heck of a guy.)
She borrowed $125 from her brother-in-law to purchase the 50-foot parcel. At the time she was making $60 every month at her position at the First State Bank. Using my limited math skills, I figured that she was making 50 cents per hour. At that rate, she’d have to work 250 hours to make enough to pay for the lot.
Today, that same lakeshore is a bit more expensive. Of course, we’re compensated at higher rates. A conservative estimate puts that lakeshore at $50,000 ($1000 per foot). At that price, to pay for the lot in 250 hours, a worker would have to make $200 an hour. A copy of my resume is in the mail. I’ve always wanted to work in a bank.
Not only is the lakeshore overpriced and overtaxed, the current owners need to deal with the Asian street gang that lives in the next cabin. (Gang members pictured, in their colors, below)
Maybe real estate is not a fair way to compare relative costs of living.
While I was a college student, I made $1.90 per hour to work in a bookstore (I think that was minimum wage, at the time) My 1960 Impala coupe used plenty of gas at 30 cents a gallon. In order to buy the same amount of $3 gas, the current minimum wage employee would have to make $19 an hour.
In a recent column, I rambled on about my state of confusion regarding automobiles.
Conventional, gasoline powered vehicles are probably cheapest and most abundant. However, they certainly aren’t helping us reduce our dependence on oil imported from strife-ridden, increasingly unstable and unfriendly sources. Diesel powered cars offer increased efficiency, but are, so far, of limited availability in the U.S. Flex-fuel friendly vehicles allow use of domestically produced fuels with reduced emissions, but efficiency suffers. Hybrids reduce fuel consumption. However, they’re more expensive and nobody seems to know how long the batteries will last.....or how we’ll dispose of the them.
So much for rehashing old news!
What I want is a car that is very quiet, powerful, fast, efficient and looks good.
A company in California claims it has produced an electric car that costs about one cent-per-mile to operate. (At $3 per gallon, gas burning vehicles that get 30 mpg cost 10 cents-per-mile for gas alone). According to Teslamotors.com, the Tesla Roadster uses its 3-phase, 4-pole electric motor with two 2-speed electric shift manual transmission to generate 248 horsepower.
Tesla Motors claims its sporty, rear-wheel-drive, two-seater accelerates from 0 to 60 in about four seconds and has a top end of 130 mph. Batteries will power the car for 250 miles. The batteries can be recharged in as little as 3.5 hours and have a useful life in excess of 100,000 miles.
The Tesla will be available in California in early 2007, in Chicago in the fall and in New York and Miami in late 2007.
No mention of sticker price.
“Once you go Yak, you never go back.”
Kayak fishing has become very popular. Fishing form kayaks allows fishermen to access spots that are either too shallow to get to by boat or just out of the reach of the casts of shore fishermen. Kayaks range from inexpensive, paddle-powered boats to pedal-powered boats costing several thousand dollars.
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