The time needed to get $1 in international dollars is 63 minutes in the US. This is about twice the average in Germany, France and the UK according to an Oxford University researcher. This suggests that average poverty is significantly higher in the US.
The Stones were the top band in the world in 1970. Comparable with Taylor Swift today.
Not some indie group.
Not really. They were well known, yes. But they didn’t have a well off fan base that could afford higher ticket prices and thus the tickets were priced accordingly.
The Taylor Swift example rather shows that there are more (somewhat) young people that can afford high ticket prices these days.
Also: I was extremely conservative with the inflation adjustment. You could probably equally well argue that $8 in 1970 is more like $60 today, as the basket to calculate inflation changed very unequally and services generally inflated much more than goods.
I love watching people use all their intelligence to ignore basic facts.
I did a quick search and the Stones came in number 3. Top band was Led Zepplin.
Tickets to Zepplin were $6.00
That completely ignores my argument.
Rock and Roll music was not something well off elderly people went to concerts in the 1970ties.
I don’t know how old people got involved in this argument.
We’re talking about the part-time waitress and her boyfriend.
In 1970, they could afford to go to a big concert.
In 2026, they can’t.
I don’t know why this is such a hard concept for you to grasp.
You compared $8 tickets of the same band to $150 tickets today. Obviously the people buying these might be still the same, but they are do not fall in the same age group or disposable income bracket anymore.
And as I have clearly shown you that there are more people being able to afford it these days, and ticket prices reflect that.
And even if that wasn’t the case, the problem for that hypothetical couple is that they have to spend more on rent not that their income is smaller.
Of course you can argue that it is unfair that their income didn’t increase according to the rate of GDP growth during these years, but over all they can still afford to go see that concert just like they did in the 1970ties (if they don’t live in a city with high rents).
And as I have clearly shown you that there are more people being able to afford it these days, and ticket prices reflect that
So, you never understood the original argument.
The original argument was that a part time waitress would be able to afford to live pretty well in 1970, including going to a big concert and paying her rent.
Like I said, you were using all your intelligence to ignore what was right in front of you.
No, you problem is that you don’t do a proper problem analysis and thus fail to understand what actually changed.
And you also seem to vastly underestimate inflation and overestimate how well such a couple was able to life in the 1970ties.
Again, you ignore what’s in front of you.
I cited a work written in the period, that was reviewed and analyzed at the time.
Everyone at the time the book was written knew that our waitress could live off that salary.
It’s not my fault you didn’t understand that.