Well, I did the math the other night because I was wondering about what happened during the oil crisis back in the late 70's/early 80's and this is what i came up with.

1981 2005

------------------------------------

Minimum Wage: $2.90 $5.15

Gas Prices: $1.41 $2.70

$1.41=2.05% of $2.90 $2.70=1.90% of $5.15
------------------------------------

So, my question is, since I wasn't born until 1988, what happened then to make gas prices seem more reasonable? Did they go back down, did wages come up, or what? Do you think that will happen this time?

 

You really have to look at this in the whole. What was the price of renting or buy a home? What was the cost of a car. What was the cost of food? What was the cost of insurance? ETC. I think that if one looks at it in this light " the whole " you can find a answer to what you have asked.

 

Go here and calculate.

http://www.bls.gov/home.htm

Your $1.41 1981 gas should be $3.03 today.

I should add that if you want to see how gas prices have gone up and down, and to read an article on it, search the above site under "gasoline price" and you will find several articles. Good reading if you have insomnia.

Only 5 years of info here:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_home_page.html

You can do a history. Do it by city as the files get to be huge.

One more with a longer history in today's dollars:

http://zfacts.com/p/35.html

 

80 years to get to a dollar per gallon, 20 years to get to $2 per gallon, 1 year to get to $3 per gallon.

 

Michaleberry, Your math is wrong.

$1.41 is %48.6 of $2.90
$2.70 is %52.4 of $5.15

I remember gas hitting $1.00 in 1979. I don't remember it getting to $1.41 in 1981. But that could be a regional difference too. I was in the midwest then. I think the adjustement from $1.41 in 1981 to $3.03 in 2005 is correct.

 

I know I only paid $8000 for a brand new 1981 Chevy Camaro (piece of junk returned to GM ), you can't buy a new Camaro for near that price now, so I say it is all relative. I do not remember the prices being as bad, though I do remember diesel Chevettes being sort of popular and everyone hating the Chevy V-8 diesel when I was selling new Chevy cars back in that time period.

 

100 / 1.90 = 52.6%...and 100 / 2.05% = 48.7% ...I don't know how I got off track on my math, but it's still saying the same thing, that gas prices today are more than in 1981.

 

Thats why everyone is up in arms. I was just discussing this with my wife the other day. Gas has jumped so fast in price. If it was a gradual thing, people wouldnt be having such a fit.

 

You know whats funny, Europe has been paying $5-$7 per equivalent gallon for many years now.

 

Here are some prices for you! In 1981 November I was working at Budd company, Philadelphia/Red Lion Plant as an electrician, salary: $12.35/hour.
Now in 2005, I am making 15.00 dollars an hour as a truck driver. Why aren't I making more money 24 years later???? Number one, American cities stopped buying US built railcars, #2. jobs in electronics, my other skill, have also disappeared. I thought I better get to the low-paying local service industry, at least they can't steal that from us.

 

What happened was inflation across the board, record bankruptcies, high job loss,mortgage rates that approached 20% and the resultant drop in property values..... There aren't many people that I know that came through it unscathed..... personally I paid 18% (from a bank) on my mortgage when I had to re-new.... If I hadn't moved out to the boonies for work, I'd have lost my shirt like most of my family and friends did....

BTW most of us parked our trucks and bought japanese econo-boxes....

Brace yourself, this is gonna have some serious repercussions down the road

 

That's the key word there. "For many years".

These high gas prices are new to us.

If the rate at which our gas prices have increased were to happen in Europe, their price would most likely be in range of 12-15 dollars per gallon.

 

So what? What percentage of their income is that price? How much is the tax on a gallon of gas in Europe? How much do Europeans pay in other taxes? I don't know the answers to all these questions (except the gas tax that's $3-$5 a gallon there) but if we did, we might find that it's just as easy or easier for Europeans to buy gas than Americans. How can I say that? One word... "Autobahn".

Or find a European and ask them how they would react to gas prices rising 65% in a year. That would be gas prices of $8.00-$13.00 a gallon.

Just saying that comparing our prices to theirs is not a like-to-like comparison without considering other factors.

 

Actually, in Europe, it is a luxury to own a car, period. Their mass transit is well developed enough that they don't need a car, so many do not even own one. Those who do, don't drive it everywhere like we do here. It may be a bit late in happening, but maybe mass transit may get some development here... I used to drive 60 miles one way to work, and the rail ran right next to where I lived and worked as well, I would have been more than happy to just get on the train and ride it to work rather than drive all that way, but that option was not available.

 

I think the matter that gasoline, on an adjusted basis, is the same price as it was in 1981, is relevant only to the results that we saw in 1981. There was virtual finance collapse. And we didn't come out of it until after 1985. We are on the edge here folks with more people not being able to afford to go to work and for some, mass transit is not an option. I believe that this country is headed for a major "adjustment". I can only hope that our way of life is not over. Too bad that many of the inventions that would benefit the average Joe getting good fuel mileage has been bought up by the oil companies who just happen to be the benefactors of todays high prices. I have seen ethanol fueled engines that get great fuel mileage and you can make your own fuel from garbage, just disappear after the check was written to buy the rights. It's greed, pure and simple.