Forum Topic
Hammond Indiana
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1969 Minas ad for Magnavox Color TB
Date: 11-08-2008
By: Tom J
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Man, I can't believe how the prices for televisions have come down over the years.
I signed up for "newspaperarchive.com" in order to be able to look at some old editions of the Hammmond Times newspaper. Sometime along about 1967 they renamed the paper and began calling it "The Times," dropping "Hammond" out of the name.
There was a Minas ad that I noticed in the March 19, 1969, edition of the Times that listed Magnavox console model color TVs "on sale" for $548. The ad didn't say what the screen's diagonal measure was, but it said the screen area was 295 square inches. If the screen shape were square, the diagonal measure would be about 24", which would be pretty small by today's standards.
I looked up a chart on the Consumer Price Index that uses 1967 as the base year, and the CPI in March of 169 was 108 vs. the current CPI of 655. That means that TV would cost six times as much as that $548 price in that ad, or $3288!
A 1967 Graduate of Hammond High who cherishes his memories of growing up in the Hammond of the 1950's and 1960's. Bring back those days!
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y145/tsjay/Tom%20and%20Georgeann/img014.jpg[/IMG] |
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11-09-2008
( Reply#: 2425 ) |
duane |
Tom - just an observation....
While the cost in today's dollars would have been very expensive, that TV would have been made in the US by American workers, which would have been a key reason why there was full employment, as listed in your other post about Inland Steel jobs.
One of the conundrums is that collectively, we Americans expect to have it all. Back in the 1960's, that one TV was the ONLY electronic gizmo we had (save for the Japanese transistor radios). Today, most households have several TVs, DVD player/recorders, surround sound systems, one or more computers, a couple of high end game systems, etc. We want very inexpensive products, such as electronics, so now they are made overseas by people who get payed almost nothing and live in squalor. In the meantime, our unemployment is high, and our manufactoring jobs have disappeared.
Perhaps we would be better off if we just had that one TV, albeit at a cost of several thousands of dollars, but the TV was made here in America, creating good jobs and keeping our people gainfully employed.
Sorry, didn't mean for this to be a soapbox, but this website often has postings that bemoan the current state of the Calumet Region and the country as compared to the old days. But there is a reason that electronics and other consumer goods have come down in price, and we as a country are seeing both the good and bad effects of it.
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11-09-2008
( Reply#: 2426 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by duane
Tom - just an observation....
While the cost in today's dollars would have been very expensive, that TV would have been made in the US by American workers, which would have been a key reason why there was full employment, as listed in your other post about Inland Steel jobs.
One of the conundrums is that collectively, we Americans expect to have it all. Back in the 1960's, that one TV was the ONLY electronic gizmo we had (save for the Japanese transistor radios). Today, most households have several TVs, DVD player/recorders, surround sound systems, one or more computers, a couple of high end game systems, etc. We want very inexpensive products, such as electronics, so now they are made overseas by people who get payed almost nothing and live in squalor. In the meantime, our unemployment is high, and our manufactoring jobs have disappeared.
Perhaps we would be better off if we just had that one TV, albeit at a cost of several thousands of dollars, but the TV was made here in America, creating good jobs and keeping our people gainfully employed.
Sorry, didn't mean for this to be a soapbox, but this website often has postings that bemoan the current state of the Calumet Region and the country as compared to the old days. But there is a reason that electronics and other consumer goods have come down in price, and we as a country are seeing both the good and bad effects of it.
I'm with ya, Duane. We can't have it both ways, even though we try to do so.
We have a "world economy" now, whether we like it or not. As third world nations emerge, our standard of living will drop. Water seeks its own level.
Tom
A 1967 Graduate of Hammond High who cherishes his memories of growing up in the Hammond of the 1950's and 1960's. Bring back those days!
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y145/tsjay/Tom%20and%20Georgeann/img014.jpg[/IMG] |
11-09-2008
( Reply#: 2427 ) |
S C Jones |
Good Exchange, Guys.
We need to come to a new realization--actually, an old realization that our parents had: Living within your means and taking care of your needs and responsibilities is more important for a life lived over generations than having it all now. We eat to live, not live to eat. And, credit costs, excessive credit costs more, and can wreak havoc.
Hopefully, there will be (if not already) lessons learned.
Duane and Tom, I salute you (for what its worth) for the mature conversation you have had. |
11-09-2008
( Reply#: 2428 ) |
Tom J |
Thanks, SC.
I found another ad in another edition of the Times from March of 1969 with an RCA Color TV at Rabin's with a 295 square inch screen, and it says the diagonal measure is 23 inches. They were advertising the TV for $438. The ad read "Get this Big-Screen RCA Color TV at a new low price." They were calling a 23" TV a "big screen." Well, that WAS big back in those days, wasn't it? :)
I miss those days so much!
Tom
A 1967 Graduate of Hammond High who cherishes his memories of growing up in the Hammond of the 1950's and 1960's. Bring back those days!
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y145/tsjay/Tom%20and%20Georgeann/img014.jpg[/IMG] |
11-09-2008
( Reply#: 2429 ) |
duane |
Thanks from me too, SC.
Our parents generation were the original "go green" types. They didn't replace anything if it still worked and did its job. If it broke, they fixed it. Unlike today, when we buy replacement things just because we want new or updated.
OK, enough of this seriousness ....and now, back to the true topic of this forum! -Duane |
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