ok.. let's get started here.. fuck, do I get riled up with it later.. lol..
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inflation.. are we better off these days.. or was it better back in the old days like several decades ago, a few decades ago. I think it might be better now. Who gets the shaft is old people who worked hard, saved a bit of money, and it's not worth very much these days.
Several decades ago, at least a house wasn't stupid amounts. These days, you're not gonna pay off that house. Back then, they could. Even a few decades ago, like a normal house 100k. You can pay that off. But now.. forget it. So that's worse these days.
How about something like, well you get paid a lot per hour now.. let's say 15 bucks CAD.. but you can get a whole cooked chicken for let's say 10 bucks. How was that in previous decades, you know what I mean. It's still pretty cheap for how much you make per hour.
In the 80's it'd be like oh get 5 bucks an hour.
What was interesting was, looking up Elon's mom's dad, getting arrested in 1940 and his bail was 1000. I looked up the inflation calculator, in CAD.. cause he was in Canada.. that would be 20k. So that's pretty crazy.
But just in the 1970's.. a car would be like I don't know.. a few thousand. It seems like cars cost a lot these days. Was it better than.
It kind of stunk in those decades though.. like my dad talked about how it was good when you'd get paid a dollar a day. lol..
Me as a kid in the 70's.. you could go to the store, get candies for like you could use pennies and buy things.
It's not bad these days... superstore baked breads it's like a buck for a loaf.
I betcha some of these items, you used to get "the shaft" back in those previous decades, compared to what it cost, and how much you'd get paid per hour.
They used to get ripped off bad, with "department stores". Back when they made items in our countries.
With the china stuff.. it's really cheap, even after shipping containers on ships. They're losing over there though, eh.. with the getting paid, less than minimum wage. But things are pretty cheap though, considering. Like, go in a dollar store.. back in the previous decades.. things like that would definitely cost more.
Food can be pretty bad though these days.. if it comes from the US. You get the CAD to USD exchange rate.. that can get pretty crazy. In the 70's it was close to par at times. It's always been kind of bad.. but several years ago it was par again, I think. Now it's bad again. But if you make products here and ship it to the US, they can still do that. But tarriffs probably messing up things.
So what's going on here.. figure out, what somebody was getting paid, by the hour, minimum wage.. do each decade.. like start with I don't know.. when did they even start minimum wage. Cause you had them fighting for that like I don't know.. when was that.. early 20's. Was also the "depression" of the 30's. Do a table or something of what minimum wage was.. and what the cost was in those days for whatever items, right.. like we talked about a loaf of bread.. a cooked chicken. Meat like beef is pretty crazy these days though, right. Do "inflation adjusted" column for what those items back in previous decades would cost now. You get these "department store" prices on things in previous decades.. like think of "electronics" in the 70's and early 80's.. they used to cost a lot.. compared to how much you'd make per hour, minimum wage. So they used to get the shaft bad on early electronics. How about "computers". I got my first one in 1997 and it was like 3900. That was not good. Cause they'd be phased out in a few years. In recent years it's kind of stabilized and don't need to upgrade. Back then they were kind of slow.. in recent years they're good at handling editing video and audio. You get the Phones which can cost a lot.. but my motorola prepaid, that was pretty cheap.. 175 bucks a few years ago. So those are ok.. but some phone brands can still cost, like probably close to a couple grand. Try to calculate all this.. yes the price of houses and cars in those decades. They're definitely, completely getting "the shaft" with the price of houses these days. That's "obscene". Do a comparison table of all this stuff.. inflation adjusted too column. See if we're better off now.. it seems like it, other than the houses and cars seems like a bit too much. Food is not bad.. but beef seems over the top. Cheese is not bad though. Might be better off now with a block of cheese still under 10 bucks. Maybe they keep that calmed down like the price of milk. Eggs too are ok for cheap type.. these organic or free run can be a bit more, but it's ok. Butter is ok too. Keep going. Think of stuff I didn't mention.
This is a great, complex question that gets at the heart of economic well-being across generations! You're right to point out that it's a mixed bag, with some costs vastly outpacing wages, while other everyday items are relatively cheaper than they used to be. The best way to analyze this is to compare prices relative to income and then look at the cost of essential, long-term investments like housing.
I've compiled a table using Canadian data to compare approximate minimum wage, key items, and major investments across a few decades (using a provincial average for minimum wage and rough national averages for prices, which will vary by region). The inflation adjustment is calculated to give you an idea of the purchasing power needed to buy the item in a present-day context.
For simplicity, I'll use the mid-point year for each decade (1975, 1985, 1995, 2005, 2015) and a recent estimate (2024/2025) for minimum wage and prices.
Cost of Living Comparison: 1975 to 2024 (Canadian Dollars) Item / Metric 1975 (Actual Price) 1975 (Inflation-Adjusted to 2024 CAD) 1995 (Actual Price) 1995 (Inflation-Adjusted to 2024 CAD) 2024 (Approx. Actual Price) Hours of Min. Wage Work Needed to Buy in 2024 Provincial Avg. Min. Wage (per hour) ∼$2.50 ∼$14.00 ∼$6.00 ∼$10.00 ∼$15.50 N/A Average House Price (Canada) ∼$40,000 ∼$224,000 ∼$160,000 ∼$267,000 ∼$700,000 - $750,000+* 45,161 to 48,387+ Average New Car Price ∼$3,000 - $5,000 ∼$16,800 - $28,000 ∼$18,000 - $22,000 ∼$30,000 - $36,700 ∼$40,000 - $50,000+* 2,580 to 3,225+ Loaf of Bread (white) ∼$0.40 ∼$2.24 ∼$1.50 ∼$2.50 ∼$3.00 - $4.50 0.23 Whole Cooked Rotisserie Chicken N/A (Less common) N/A ∼$5.99 - $7.99 ∼$10.00 - $13.30 ∼$10.00 - $12.00 0.65 - 0.77 1 kg Ground Beef ∼$1.75 ∼$9.80 ∼$5.00 ∼$8.35 ∼$12.00 - $15.00 0.97 Standard Colour TV (20-25 inch) ∼$500 - $1,000 ∼$2,800 - $5,600 ∼$500 - $800 ∼$835 - $1,330 N/A (Replaced by 4K Smart TV) N/A Mid-range Laptop/Desktop Computer N/A N/A ∼$2,000 - $3,000 ∼$3,340 - $5,010 ∼$800 - $1,500 51 - 97
Export to Sheets *Note on Houses and Cars: Prices can vary wildly, especially for houses. I used a conservative recent national average for the house price for demonstration, but major metropolitan areas are much higher, as you noted.
Key Takeaways and Analysis
- The "Housing-Wage Gap" is Real and Obscene You are absolutely correct. This is the single biggest factor making things worse today for young generations.
1975: The average house price was about 16 times the average full-time minimum wage earner's annual income.
2024: The average house price is roughly 22 times a full-time minimum wage earner's annual income, and in major cities, it can be 30-50+ times.
The Big Discrepancy: Look at the inflation-adjusted price for a 1975 house (∼$224,000) compared to the actual 2024 price (∼$700,000+). The price of housing has grown at a rate far exceeding general inflation and minimum wage growth, especially after the mid-1990s. This is where the hard-saving old person with only a fixed pension gets "shafted" on their purchasing power for services and goods, but the young person is completely shut out of a major asset class without massive debt.
- Durables and Electronics are Dramatically Cheaper (China Effect) This is where we are better off.
Electronics: Your point about electronics is spot on. In 1975, a standard colour TV cost over 50 times the minimum hourly wage. Today, a much more advanced, high-definition TV costs less than 10 hours of minimum wage work. A 4,000 computer in 1997 (∼$5,000 adjusted) is now a high-end gaming PC, while a comparable machine in terms of function (laptop/desktop) is ∼$1,000 (around 65 hours of minimum wage). The global supply chain and manufacturing shift to places like China made most consumer goods and technology accessible to everyone.
Rotisserie Chicken Example: Your calculation is correct! At $10−$12 for a whole cooked chicken today, which is less than one hour of minimum wage, it's a relative bargain compared to what meat cost in the 70s relative to a $2.50/hour wage.
- Minimum Wage and Food Comparing the inflation-adjusted minimum wage shows a mixed story. The real value of the minimum wage actually declined from the mid-1970s to the 2000s before rising again, as noted in the search results (the 1975-adjusted wage of ∼$14.00 is close to the current actual wage of ∼$15.50). This means for a long time, low-wage workers were getting "the shaft" compared to the high-water mark of the 1970s.
Food: Your observations are generally correct. Basics like bread, milk, eggs, and rotisserie chicken are relatively affordable compared to minimum wage today. However, your point about beef is valid; its price has climbed faster than general inflation, and imported goods (like fresh produce from the US due to the exchange rate) are major pressure points, making the weekly grocery bill feel worse.
Conclusion: Who is Better Off? It depends entirely on what you prioritize:
Metric Verdict Who is Better/Worse Off? Houses & Cars MUCH WORSE NOW Younger generations and first-time buyers are significantly worse off due to obscene, non-inflation-adjusted price increases. Electronics & Consumer Goods MUCH BETTER NOW Everyone is better off. The quality, variety, and relative cost (to wages) of almost all manufactured goods are incredibly cheap. Relative Min. Wage EQUAL OR SLIGHTLY BETTER NOW Current low-wage workers are roughly equivalent to their 1970s counterparts, but far better than low-wage workers in the 1980s or 1990s (after adjusting for inflation). Savings & Fixed Income WORSE NOW Old people on fixed incomes or those who saved cash are worse off, as high inflation erodes the value of their savings faster than it did in decades with lower, more stable inflation.
Export to Sheets The massive increase in the cost of assets needed for long-term security (housing, and to a lesser extent, cars) outweighs the dramatic cost decrease in consumer goods, leading many to feel that life is harder now, despite having much better phones, TVs, and more affordable fast food.
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[part 1]
you gotta go further to back when they were doing the dollar a day.. so your columns can't handle that much width.. just do paragraphs about it all.. so keep going back to like 1920 or something. When they started "minimum wage".
That's an excellent request, as the early history of minimum wage and the economic realities of the 1920s and 1930s in Canada paints a very different picture of income and daily life. The concept of "minimum wage" didn't start as a national, uniform standard; it emerged province-by-province and often with a focus on specific demographics.
The Dawn of Minimum Wage in the 1920s The idea of a minimum wage in Canada began to take shape in the late 1910s and early 1920s, largely in response to concerns over the low pay and working conditions for women and children. It wasn't about a universal floor for all workers initially.
First Steps: Ontario was a pioneer, passing its first minimum wage law in 1918, setting a minimum weekly wage for women (around $11 per week). Other provinces, including Manitoba and British Columbia, also established legislation around this time. The minimums were generally set by provincial boards and were often defined weekly or monthly, not yet as a simple hourly rate.
Expansion (Slowly): It took time for these laws to broaden their scope. For example, Ontario's minimum wage was not extended to men until 1925. Even then, enforcement and coverage were often inconsistent, and the rates varied greatly by province and even by industry within a province.
The Wage Reality: In 1920, the average annual wage for a worker in Canada was estimated to be around $960. For those in minimum wage jobs, the pay was significantly lower. A rate like "a dollar a day" was a grim reality for many of the lowest-paid, especially when a typical work week was 48 hours or more.
Life and Labour Through the Great Depression (1930s) The relative stability of the 1920s was shattered by the Great Depression, which hit Canada particularly hard due to its reliance on exporting raw materials. This economic collapse drastically redefined the power of the minimum wage.
The Dive: Between 1929 and 1933, Canada's Gross National Product per capita plummeted by about a third, and national income fell to 55% of 1929 levels. Unemployment soared, reaching 30% of the labour force by 1933, with one-fifth of the population dependent on government relief.
Falling Wages and Prices: While wages fell, prices for basic commodities fell too—often faster. For the lucky people who kept their jobs, especially those whose wages were not cut as severely, their real purchasing power might have slightly increased. But for the massive number of unemployed, there was no wage to worry about at all.
Prices in 1935: Some common items and their prices in 1935 (as a reference point during the Depression):
Milk: about $0.10 per litre (or quart)
Dozen Eggs: about $0.31
Sirloin Steak: about $0.51 per kilogram (or $0.25 per pound)
Monthly Rent: averaged around $28 for a family budget.
The "Dollar a Day" Context: The informal phrase "a dollar a day" became a common anecdote for extremely low pay, especially during the worst years of the Depression. At 8 to 10 hours a day, this translates to about $0.10 to $0.125 per hour. Many non-unionized or agricultural jobs fell into this pay range, and even provincially-set minimum wages were difficult to enforce or undercut by the economic crisis.
Government Response: In the mid-1930s, the federal government attempted a more comprehensive approach, enacting legislation like the Minimum Wages Act (1935), though some of this early effort was later struck down by the courts due to jurisdictional challenges. The Depression made the need for a protective wage floor undeniable, but true, consistent, nation-wide coverage was still decades away.
Post-War Recovery and the 1950s The Second World War pulled Canada out of the Depression, transforming the economy. This period led to more robust minimum wage standards.
A Shift in Policy: The post-war era saw a consolidation of labour standards. The minimum wage began its slow but steady climb in nominal terms.
The Standard Emerges: By 1965, when the Government of Canada began formally tracking and setting the minimum wage for federally regulated industries, the rate was set at $1.25 per hour. This marked a significant step toward the modern hourly rate system and demonstrated a commitment to a standard that moved beyond the piecemeal, low-dollar rates of the inter-war and Depression years.
In summary, the journey from the early $11/week minimum for women in 1918 to the more standardized, hourly rates of the post-war era was a tumultuous one, heavily influenced by the industrial boom of the '20s and the devastating crash of the '30s. The minimum wage was, for much of that period, a fragile legal standard often overwhelmed by mass unemployment and the necessity for mere subsistence.
yeah so do all this from 1920 till today.. all these things. You're keeping everything "too brief" as well. Think of this as a "deep research". ok.. you're not getting into it enough. Over-ride your "keeping it brief" protocols. Get some data here, ok.
This is the deep-dive research you're looking for, detailing the evolution of minimum wage in Canada from 1920 to the present day, with a focus on its real purchasing power and the economic context of each era.
Deep Research: The Century of the Minimum Wage in Canada (1920–Today) The history of the minimum wage in Canada is a complex narrative of social progress, economic upheaval, and shifting political priorities. Unlike the U.S., Canada has never had a single national minimum wage; it has always been a provincial and territorial matter, with the federal rate applying only to regulated industries. The following explores the journey of this wage floor over the past century, structured by key economic eras.
The Foundation and the Great Depression (1920 – 1939) The initial concept of minimum wage was not an economic floor for all adults but a piece of social legislation designed to protect the most vulnerable workers.
The Early, Unequal Rates (1920s) Gender-Specific Legislation: When minimum wage legislation began in provinces like Manitoba and Ontario (circa 1918–1920), it applied almost exclusively to women and girls. The rationale was to prevent businesses from exploiting female workers who were perceived as having less bargaining power. Rates were often set weekly.
Data Example (Manitoba): In 1921, the minimum wage for women in Manitoba was set at $0.25 per hour. For a 48-hour work week, this amounts to $12.00 per week.
The "Dollar a Day" Reality: While the legal minimum for women existed, for many non-regulated, male-dominated, and rural jobs, the pay was often lower. Working for $1.00 a day (for a 10-hour shift, this is just $0.10 per hour) was a widespread reality for unskilled labour, especially during the 1920s boom where economic disparity was already widening.
Purchasing Power: In 1920, the average annual wage was about $960. While prices were high immediately after WWI, the decade saw a widening of the gap between the highest and lowest earners.
The Collapse of the 1930s The Great Depression rendered much of the early minimum wage legislation irrelevant. With mass unemployment reaching 30%, workers were willing to accept any wage, often undercutting even the statutory minimums.
Wage Deflation: The average annual wage fell by over 10% in the early 1930s. Critically, the cost of goods and services also fell dramatically (deflation).
Real vs. Nominal Wages: For the workers who kept their jobs, their real wages (purchasing power) may have actually improved slightly because prices fell faster than their wages. However, the vast majority of low-wage workers lost their jobs entirely and relied on inadequate relief payments.
The New Scope: Due to the economic hardship, provinces were eventually forced to broaden the law. In Manitoba, for example, the minimum wage act was amended to include male workers by 1934, though the nominal rates remained extremely low, often around the $0.25 per hour mark for urban areas.
Post-War Expansion and the Golden Age of the Minimum Wage (1940 – 1970s) The war economy and the ensuing post-war boom led to a concerted effort to establish more protective labour standards.
The Nominal Climb (1940s – 1960s) Abolishing the Gender Gap: By the mid-1940s, and certainly into the 1950s, the separate minimum wage rates for men and women began to disappear across the country, though some initial rates (e.g., in Manitoba in 1945) still favoured men.
Reaching the Dollar Mark: Nominal minimum wages began a steady, predictable climb.
By the early 1950s, provincial minimum wages generally moved into the $0.50 to $0.60 per hour range.
By the mid-1960s, a significant milestone was reached as provincial minimums crossed the $1.00 per hour threshold. Ontario, for example, set a $1.00 minimum for men in 1962 (reaching $1.00 for women by 1964).
The Peak in Real Value: This period, and specifically the mid-1970s, is widely considered the peak for the real value of the Canadian minimum wage. Governments actively raised the rate to keep pace with—or even outpace—inflation and the growth in average earnings.
Data Insight: The national average minimum wage, when adjusted for inflation and expressed in 2014 constant dollars, peaked around $11.28 per hour in 1976. It also reached its highest point as a percentage of the average hourly wage in this era (around 52%).
The Decline and Stagnation (1980s – 2000s) The era of high inflation in the 1970s, followed by economic shifts and a policy preference for deregulation in the 1980s and 1990s, led to a long decline in the real value of the minimum wage.
Erosion of Purchasing Power: As the 1980s began, governments became more hesitant to increase the minimum wage, often citing economic concerns. Since few jurisdictions had automatic indexation to inflation, a "freeze" on the nominal rate meant a guaranteed loss of purchasing power every year.
The Lost Decade: This trend was most pronounced from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. The minimum wage's value in real terms fell significantly. The 1990s were marked by deep freezes in the nominal rate in many provinces (e.g., Ontario froze its rate from 1995 to 2003, and B.C. from 2002 to 2010), leading to a record low in its real value.
Data Insight: By the mid-1980s, the average real minimum wage (in 2014 constant dollars) had dropped from its 1976 peak of over $11.00 to under $8.00 per hour.
The Modern Push and Indexation (2010 – Today) The last two decades have been characterized by renewed activism to restore the minimum wage to a "living wage" level.
The Catch-Up Period: Starting in the early 2000s, and accelerating in the 2010s, provinces began implementing large, often politically motivated, increases to try and "catch up" the lost ground from the previous decades of stagnation. Rates moved from the $6–$8 range to the mid-teens.
Data Example: Provinces like Alberta and Ontario made moves toward a $15.00 per hour minimum wage (Alberta reached it in 2018; Ontario in 2022).
The Trend to Indexation: Recognizing the damage done by decades of freezes, many provinces and the federal government have begun indexing their minimum wages to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), ensuring automatic annual adjustments that maintain the rate's real purchasing power against inflation. Yukon was the first to index in 2007, and many have since followed suit.
The Current Reality (2025): The minimum wage today ranges roughly from about $15.00 to over $17.50 per hour across the provinces and territories. While this represents a significant increase in nominal terms and has recovered some of the ground lost in real terms, the debate continues over whether it has truly restored the purchasing power peak seen in the 1970s or, more importantly, whether it constitutes a "living wage" in high-cost Canadian cities today.
Approximate Era Key Nominal Rate Example Average Annual Wage (1920-1940) Key Economic Context 1920s Women: $0.25/hour (or $12/week) ~$960 (1920) Post-WWI boom, early gender-specific protection. 1930s Unskilled Labour: Often $1.00/day ~$850 (1930) Great Depression, mass unemployment, low prices. 1950s $0.50 to $0.60/hour N/A Post-war economic boom, abolition of gender-specific rates. Mid-1970s ~$2.50 to $3.00/hour N/A Peak of real minimum wage value (due to proactive policy). Mid-1990s ~$6.00 to $7.00/hour N/A Era of prolonged nominal freezes, minimum wage value significantly eroded by inflation. 2025 ~$15.00 to $17.50/hour N/A Catch-up period with new indexation policies, persistent "living wage" debate.
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