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Originally Posted by VivaLFuego
Not to beat a dead horse, but is this based on your gut feeling or do you have any data to back this up?
The difference is that now, 2010, there is a lot more crap/consumable goods that we consider to be life essentials than there were in 1975. Furthermore, the stuff we demand is now of much higher technological complexity than stuff in 1975. Health care would be cheap if the only procedures and medicines available were those that existed in 1975.
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We have the same discount style stores we had 40 years. WALMART is just a new and meaner version of Woolworths.
There were a ton of discount stores before, as well as middle market places. Infact almost all the major downtown department stores even had a discount basement department store.
So cheaper goods were always available.
Look at Filene's Basement. That is a discount store known in many parts of the USA. Well the first store opened in downtown Boston in like 1905. The idea that we only get cheap items now is a myth.
It was a lot more specialized a couple decades ago. Like my parents were saying if they wanted a new winter coat, they would go down to Spadina Ave in downtown Toronto and there were dozens of discount warehouse clothing stores in a row. You could check out all different styles and barter prices, etc.
Like I said, almost all the big cities had discount stores, as well as whole districts full of discount shopping.
Some of these areas still live on. Manhattan still has some of it. And even Toronto's old garment area still has a number of discount clothing shops which sell high quality stuff for cheaper than the chain stores.
But the idea that Walmart and Costco have brought us cheap items is a total myth that American's have really bought into.
American's have always had discount goods. Woolworths, 5 & Dime, Kresege, etc.
In fact today we have less discount stores and who is to say we really are getting the best price? I remember when I was growing up, we had way way more discount options than today.