https://dqydj.com/historical-home-prices/
source: Federal Housing Finance Agency
>median home value USA 1974: $28,789.00
>median home value USA 2023: $379,068.00
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FEDMINNFRWG
source: US Department of Labor
>federal minimum wage USA 1974: $2.00/hour
>federal minimum wage USA 2023: $7.25/hour
>hours of work at federal minimum wage required to earn the median home value in 1974: 14,394.5 hours (6.5 years working 43 hours/week, 50 weeks / year)
>hours of work at federal minimum wage required to earn the median home value in 2023: 52,285.24 hours (24.32 years working 43 hours/week, 50 weeks / year)
>What the federal minimum wage SHOULD BE to earn the median home value in 14,394.5 hours: $26.33/hour
But nobody actually earns min-wage, so here are some Stats what people were actually earning.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015021301612&view=1up&seq=406
source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
>Data for production workers / nonsupervisory employees in various industries
>Total, gross hourly earnings (1974) by Industry:
>Manufracturing: $4.41/hour
>Mining: $5.21/hour
>Contract construction: $6.75/hour
>Transportation and public utilities: $5.43/hour
>Wholesale trade: $4.49/hour
Using the previous metric we can calculate what those people should be earning today:
>Manufracturing: $58.06/hour
>Mining: $68.59/hour
>Contract construction: $88.86/hour
>Transportation and public utilities: $71.49/hour
>Wholesale trade: $59.11/hour
Keep in mind we are talking about NON-SUPERVISORY employees here, e.g. for Construction sites it's the Mexican worker-grunts, not the guy giving orders.
So tell me, can some random lad who didn't even finish his highschool diploma go to a random construction site, give the Boss-man a firm handshake and start working the next day for $88.86/hour?
No? Because that was the reality boomers were living in 1974.