As a small child, how many cars did your family own? How many televisions? Radios? Cameras? Hell, how many pairs of shoes did you have when you were ten? Yes, we made great stuff in America. And it was all EXPENSIVE AS HELL. Oh, not in actual dollars, because inflation has so badly eroded the value of our currency. That 1934 Chevrolet was probably only $600. But hardly anyone could afford one, much less two. A baby doll and a board game was a big Christmas, and maybe if you were really lucky, a new bike that probably had to last you at least five years.
That's a crock that could only have come from the mind of someone who's yet to celebrate a 30th birthday AND flunked math...'cuz I'd have to be in my 90s for our family cars (yes carS--plural) to be 1934 models.
FYI, those so-called "good ol' days" actually lasted well into the '80s (which I suspect is before you were born). Yes, things did cost more, but they also lasted a lot longer and could also be repaired (how many repair shops has our "disposable" economy put out of business?). People paid cash for 'em too...they only bought what they could afford . But somehow the companies who made those goods were profitable. So they couldn't have been so expensive that they were out of reach for most people.
.The typical family now has several cars, TV's, computers, cell phones, two pairs of shoes for every day of the week, and a huge closet to contain their extensive wardrobe. A reasonably sized sailboat is well within the reach of the middle class.
How many would be able to afford any of it if they had to pay cash for ANY of it? Who actually owns YOUR boat--you, or the bank? What about your cars? Could you pay cash for ANYthing? Do you have a positive net worth? If your answer to any of those questions is yes, you're in the minority today. 30 years ago almost everyone could answer every one of those questions yes. Do you have credit card debt? Student loans? 30 years ago no one did. And we weren't "huddled around the very well built coal stove to stay warm in the winter like the average American had to in the '30's and '40's... (You really should have paid at least as much attention in history classes as you did in econ 101!)...we had TVs and dishwashers, microwaves and cameras...and yes, even boats then.
My dock at my YC only had 14 slips...all occupied by beautifully restored 32-45' cruisers at least 20 years old. One slip came open, a new member with a brand new 36' cruiser moved into...he kinda looked down his nose at all our old boats...till he realized that he was the ONLY one on the dock who's boat was mortgaged...the rest of us owned our boat, the bank owned his.
This isn't my first recession (you'll prob'ly have to Google the Great Depression to find out when it was and then get out your calculator to figure out that a 70 year old was born well after it ended)...in all previous ones, people didn't sit on their butts collecting UI for years...there were literal explosions of entrepreneurial startups, a good number of which--including my own--became thriving businesses (I sold mu own company in 1999). It took me a while to figure out why, even 3 years into this recession, there have been NONE: no one knows how to do it any more.
Most companies who actually made anything were NOT publicly held corporations...and still aren't. They're so-called "small businesses" whose ownership/management were/are committed making good products. When recessions hit, those companies are often gobbled up by big corps run by MBAs who only think in terms in spend less, whatever it takes. They often just fold the smaller companies they've bought, which is what Thetford did when they acquired W-C. You aren't old enough to remember all the sailboat mfrs who were around in the 70s and 80s, even into the 90s--Cape Dory, Columbia, California, Pearson, Erickson, just to name a few--but are gone. Many of each brand are still afloat, refurbished today, and sounder than most of what is being made today.
Once upon a time--as recently as the 80s--there were also half a dozen U.S. companies--all privately held--who made marine toilets. Jabso even made a decent product for the money then. Today, there are only two US mfrs of quality marine toilets--Groco and Raritan...both privately held, both STILL doing VERY well.
I have to go now...my nursing home's Friday afternoon walker races are about to start and I have a title to defend.
That's a crock that could only have come from the mind of someone who's yet to celebrate a 30th birthday AND flunked math...'cuz I'd have to be in my 90s for our family cars (yes carS--plural) to be 1934 models.
FYI, those so-called "good ol' days" actually lasted well into the '80s (which I suspect is before you were born). Yes, things did cost more, but they also lasted a lot longer and could also be repaired (how many repair shops has our "disposable" economy put out of business?). People paid cash for 'em too...they only bought what they could afford . But somehow the companies who made those goods were profitable. So they couldn't have been so expensive that they were out of reach for most people.
.The typical family now has several cars, TV's, computers, cell phones, two pairs of shoes for every day of the week, and a huge closet to contain their extensive wardrobe. A reasonably sized sailboat is well within the reach of the middle class.
How many would be able to afford any of it if they had to pay cash for ANY of it? Who actually owns YOUR boat--you, or the bank? What about your cars? Could you pay cash for ANYthing? Do you have a positive net worth? If your answer to any of those questions is yes, you're in the minority today. 30 years ago almost everyone could answer every one of those questions yes. Do you have credit card debt? Student loans? 30 years ago no one did. And we weren't "huddled around the very well built coal stove to stay warm in the winter like the average American had to in the '30's and '40's... (You really should have paid at least as much attention in history classes as you did in econ 101!)...we had TVs and dishwashers, microwaves and cameras...and yes, even boats then.
My dock at my YC only had 14 slips...all occupied by beautifully restored 32-45' cruisers at least 20 years old. One slip came open, a new member with a brand new 36' cruiser moved into...he kinda looked down his nose at all our old boats...till he realized that he was the ONLY one on the dock who's boat was mortgaged...the rest of us owned our boat, the bank owned his.
This isn't my first recession (you'll prob'ly have to Google the Great Depression to find out when it was and then get out your calculator to figure out that a 70 year old was born well after it ended)...in all previous ones, people didn't sit on their butts collecting UI for years...there were literal explosions of entrepreneurial startups, a good number of which--including my own--became thriving businesses (I sold mu own company in 1999). It took me a while to figure out why, even 3 years into this recession, there have been NONE: no one knows how to do it any more.
Most companies who actually made anything were NOT publicly held corporations...and still aren't. They're so-called "small businesses" whose ownership/management were/are committed making good products. When recessions hit, those companies are often gobbled up by big corps run by MBAs who only think in terms in spend less, whatever it takes. They often just fold the smaller companies they've bought, which is what Thetford did when they acquired W-C. You aren't old enough to remember all the sailboat mfrs who were around in the 70s and 80s, even into the 90s--Cape Dory, Columbia, California, Pearson, Erickson, just to name a few--but are gone. Many of each brand are still afloat, refurbished today, and sounder than most of what is being made today.
Once upon a time--as recently as the 80s--there were also half a dozen U.S. companies--all privately held--who made marine toilets. Jabso even made a decent product for the money then. Today, there are only two US mfrs of quality marine toilets--Groco and Raritan...both privately held, both STILL doing VERY well.
I have to go now...my nursing home's Friday afternoon walker races are about to start and I have a title to defend.
