What do you think of moving prices of everything, back to 1972?

It would be an utter disaster and would destroy the economy. Deflation is massively disastrous. We need a bit of inflation all the time or the economy stops as people wait for the value of their money to increase without doing anything.

At best, nothing would change. It would be like revaluing the money. But it sure wouldn’t help the economy and it could make it far worse.

You have to remember that every year there was a problem with the economy. The cost of living was the same as today when compared to how much people were being paid. During the time of the Chicago World fair you could buy a whole bedroom set for $90.

In the 50s there was also a big economic crisis. I believe that is when it became pretty necessary for both parties in a marriage to work.

Probably a lot of people would quit their jobs, as their savings would now have 4x (an estimate) the buying power they did before, making them, for all intents and purposes, 4x richer. That’d send things pretty topsy-turvy, I imagine.

But wouldn’t it be nice, huh?

I would probably go out and buy a Lexus instead of the cheap Honda my savings would buy me now.

Wasn’t there an oil crisis just around the corner in ‘72?

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Eh that was engineered by OPEC

True dat.

At least that extra money you come into would allow you to take a year of Econ at a community college so you would understand what a bad idea this is.

1972 was just after Nixon’s wage and price controls. They didn’t work.

So if we roll all prices back to 1972, does that include salaries? Are computers re-priced at the equivalent of 1972 memory and processor prices? The summer of 1972 I sold four function calculators for $150 each, and they were twice the size of a pack of cigarettes. And very few people had credit cards. Are you ready or your credit limit to be $100?

All in all, not quite a good solution.

I remember the interest rate on my first used car in the mid 70’s was 18%. No, I don’t want to go back.

Prices would be lower, yes, but so would salaries. Also, but about things that weren’t invented in 1972? Some things would also end up costing more because it was new and innovative.

@tragiclikebowie Before the ‘70s the U.S. produced most of its own oil. The oil crisis was the direct result of the fact that oil deposits in the country stopped producing as much and fewer new fields were being found. Kind of like what’s happening now globally.

Personally, I say go for it. Of course, I wouldn’t be all that bothered by economic collapse, so…

What would you do about things that were invented after the 70’s like cell phones, sattelite equipment for personal use and many other things. We would be better served with rational trade policies, return to tarriffs on items made with near slave labor, and a progressive tax rate.

In fact, if we did away with everything eminating from Reagan, we would have a much better country, secure social safety net, and a return to real democracy in voting.