Not to mention that gas is a larger part of the average persons budget than it was 72 years ago. We live in a car distopia without any good public transit. It's also why looking at a single thing like gas prices is a dumb way to judge how affordable living is.
You don’t even need to bring income into it. Inflation is the whole point of the “things were cheaper in the old days” trope, if you adjust for inflation then all you’re saying is we’ve seen zero progress. Even on its own terms it’s still not a brag.
True, especially because isn't gas prices one of the things that define inflation so doing that calculation doesn't really mean anything? Also so many fewer people were driving in those days.
This guy doesn't get to enjoy his pension, while younger generations has to wait longer to get actual representation of their views among serving politicians.
Well ... fuck, I just got done grabbing the BLS inflation calculation for .25 from 1973 and that's $3.05 today but your post is just already here making me feel silly for even thinking about commenting.
Cool stats though, it's interesting to see how the cost has more or less stayed in line with inflation. I think that's what you'd expect to see with most commodities from that time to now, but I'm also an idiot who got like a C in my macroeconomics class so I don't really know.
… if only the most expensive things stayed the same ratio - like mortgage/rent, health insurance, retirement, college. Minimum wage is $7.25, rent costs $1.5k. Got an A in macro, but only a B in micro. I wonder what happened…
Those things have gotten more expensive and I don’t want to sound like I’m arguing just want to say that’s always been a problem with calculating inflation. Like I read about Jesus being betrayed for six preices of silver or something and that far back it’s really hard to say how much that’s “worth” comparable to today.
But I never been to one of those fancy adult schools “snaps suspenders” so what do I know.
I've noticed that a common sign of dementia is thinking gas costs what it did decades ago. My step dad would be sent in to pay for gas and he'd come back thinking $10 was more than enough to fill the tank. This was when gas was $4+ a gallon.
Chuck's math is 25¢ a gallon. As you point out that is right about the price it was when he was in his prime. His post isn't just about lying for Trump. It's about mental decline.
You may be asking why my step dad with dementia was being sent in unattended to pay for gas when you could pay at the pump. Denial by his primary caregiver was also a factor. Make him do as many normal things as possible and then be shocked when they didn't work out.
Gas price ranges are huge by what area you're in. You may have paid $2.90, but I paid $2.15. there's a few areas in other states that I know are under $2.00. California probably mostly over $3.00.
I'm sorry. "as a college student", "72 yrs ago". You guys really need to cap the age at which a person is allowed to make decisions that impact the lives of millions of people. Jeez, at least make cognitive testing mandatory.
Yeah gas is weird because our subsidization and conflicts we create everywhere for it. For instance gas was at 3.25 in 2008 and 2.14 in 2016. It isn't as simple as saying Obama did such a great job gas fell by 58% during that time (adjusted for inflation, though I think I just did Jan 1, so that's not entirely accurate, but we get the point)
Adjusted for inflation from '53 to today that’s like $3 per gallon.
Converted to metrics I understand that’s like 0,68€ a liter. That’s that‘s about a third of what you pay in Germany these days (incl. tax) on a bad day. (Typically around 1,80€/l)
My version of 'adjusted for inflation' is to look at what a paycheck could cover.
In 1960, the minimum wage was $1.00/hour and the average US home was $11,000.00 A high school graduate could own their own home. In those days, $1 million would buy you two fine homes, a fleet of cars, and enough left over to live off the income.
That's because our taxpayer dollars are used to subsidize this obsolete form of energy. We should be focusing on energy of the future instead of energy of the past.
It's not that I'm opposed to all forms of giving people things. It's just that I would rather we help give people good things like solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, free or low cost bus fair. Things that will move our country forward instead of backwards.
Americans don't know how cheap they have it. Although adjusted for their engines and driving habits it's probably not that much different than the rest of the world
In here it's hovering roughly around 1,60 - 1,70€/l (~7 - 7,50$/gallon). Plus car tax and mandatory insurance in 1000€/year ballbark for gasoline cars, with diesel it's more but depends on the type, emission class and weight of the car.
He's a really fucking old ass dude. When he was 20 years old gas was around $3.05 a gallon if you adjust for inflation. It's $4.50 near me right now.
But hey, let's talk about wages and electricity costs. Let's chat about rent and the cost of a house these days. Let's see what the cost of goods and groceries is doing. Most of us need computers, so let's talk about RAM and SSD costs under this regime that just dereguated AI and is nullifying state AI laws.
It's all worse.
Edit: let's just do the first two.
prices for electricity are 938.39% higher in 2025 versus 1953
prices for rent of primary residence are 1,177.60% higher in 2025 versus 1953
Yup at the low low cost of checks military budget oh. I love when we subsidize car drivers and oil tycoons with young people's lives, foreign state sovereignty, and the habitability of the only planet we currently occupy.
$1 trillion military budget for 330 million is $3,000 per Person. At 600 gallons for $3 each per year, if you don't pay tripple as in other countries, that's break even.
ChuckGrassley isn't wrong, but he should have concentrated more on proper phrasing instead of using textspeak.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the national average for the cost of gasoline remained steady for the first three years of the 1950s at $0.27 per gallon. That low price might sound practically idyllic, but the average household income at the time was $3,300 per year. Adjusted for inflation, $0.27 in 1950 equates to about $3.52/gallon in today’s dollars. Nowadays, the median household income is $74,580.
HOWEVER, and I cannot stress this enough, this is about the only thing MAGA policy is running on (probably because they can directly influence gas prices). If you want to criticize the current government I suggest you look at the larger picture here.
You do have to take into consideration that part of the reason that prices fell is mostly Saudi Arabia deciding to pump a ton of oil, and the fear of cooler global demand (this one due to MAGA, since they caused fears of a global recession)
89 Comments
danc4498@lemmy.world · 176 pts · 260d
Even if his math is correct, it’s a stupid point cause our incomes haven’t matched inflation and that’s all that really matters.
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world · 63 pts · 260d
Our incomes should have matched productivity to get ahead. Matching inflation is just treading water.
danc4498@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 260d
We drowning
Honse@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 260d
This is a great talking point and I'm stealing it
wheezy@lemmy.ml · 22 pts · 260d
Not to mention that gas is a larger part of the average persons budget than it was 72 years ago. We live in a car distopia without any good public transit. It's also why looking at a single thing like gas prices is a dumb way to judge how affordable living is.
victorz@lemmy.world · -7 pts · 260d
Are you based in America?
wheezy@lemmy.ml · 14 pts · 260d
Yes. And the context of this post is talking about America.
victorz@lemmy.world · -4 pts · 260d
Alright, just checking. 🤷♂️
skisnow@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 260d
You don’t even need to bring income into it. Inflation is the whole point of the “things were cheaper in the old days” trope, if you adjust for inflation then all you’re saying is we’ve seen zero progress. Even on its own terms it’s still not a brag.
JeSuisUnHombre@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 260d
True, especially because isn't gas prices one of the things that define inflation so doing that calculation doesn't really mean anything? Also so many fewer people were driving in those days.
stoy@lemmy.zip · 135 pts · 260d
Why the fuck is a 92 year old man still actively holding office?
And what insane political system would allow this to happen?
This is elder abuse!
Shamber@lemmy.world · 83 pts · 260d
You mean the elderly is abusing us, I totally agree
stoy@lemmy.zip · 11 pts · 260d
In this case both works.
This guy doesn't get to enjoy his pension, while younger generations has to wait longer to get actual representation of their views among serving politicians.
nulluser@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 260d
Except, as far as we know, nobody is forcing him to be there. He could just resign today if he wanted to.
ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 260d
It could be so much worse.
jordanlund@lemmy.world · 114 pts · 260d
Chuck Grassley is 92 years old.
He was college age from 1951-ish to 1954-ish.
Gas prices were $0.27 to $0.29 a gallon back then.
https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/fact-741-august-20-2012-historical-gasoline-prices-1929-2011
Adjusted for inflation, that's $3.37 to $3.49 today...
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
Buuuuut... Another way of looking at it...
The minimum wage in the early 1950s was $0.75/hr.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/history/chart
So a gallon of gas was between 36% and 39% of an hours worth of minimum wage work.
The current minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. A gallon of gas at the current average of $2.847 is 39% of an hours worth of minimum wage work.
https://gasprices.aaa.com/
kossa@feddit.org · 23 pts · 260d
Almost as if inflation is a function of energy prices, as everything we consume requires energy to produce and transport.
untorquer@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 260d
It couldn't possibly be that the greediest of corporations in the world are those in the energy trust feeding its destruction!
Miaou@jlai.lu · 4 pts · 260d
You mean the opposite? Inflation is strictly a conscious, economical decision.
tehn00bi@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 260d
Actually kinda cool stats.
LePoisson@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 260d
Well ... fuck, I just got done grabbing the BLS inflation calculation for .25 from 1973 and that's $3.05 today but your post is just already here making me feel silly for even thinking about commenting.
Cool stats though, it's interesting to see how the cost has more or less stayed in line with inflation. I think that's what you'd expect to see with most commodities from that time to now, but I'm also an idiot who got like a C in my macroeconomics class so I don't really know.
aceshigh@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 260d
… if only the most expensive things stayed the same ratio - like mortgage/rent, health insurance, retirement, college. Minimum wage is $7.25, rent costs $1.5k. Got an A in macro, but only a B in micro. I wonder what happened…
LePoisson@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 260d
Yeah it's wild how fucked our economy is.
The divorce of worker productivity from worker pay leading to the huge wealth gap we see today is really bad for everyone but the 1%.
Aeao@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 259d
Those things have gotten more expensive and I don’t want to sound like I’m arguing just want to say that’s always been a problem with calculating inflation. Like I read about Jesus being betrayed for six preices of silver or something and that far back it’s really hard to say how much that’s “worth” comparable to today.
But I never been to one of those fancy adult schools “snaps suspenders” so what do I know.
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world · 41 pts · 260d
If my napkin math is right*, he was in college between 1951 and 1956; with gas ranging from .24 to .27 dollars a gallon.
Adjusting for inflation that’s be about $2.40.
Sunday I paid 2.90 at Costco. It seems he’s full of shit.
(My napkin math is notorious for breaking the laws of physics. Best do your own… or else we might end up dividing by zero.)
LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyz · 17 pts · 260d
For some bizarre reason I was able to get gas at $2.05 on Monday.
The next day it was back to $2.92.
Must have been a weird price war between a handful of stations that day.
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 260d
Or someone messed up programming the machine.
But still, that’s a score.
LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyz · 8 pts · 260d
I checked around and about half the gas stations in the area were around $2.05 and half were around $2.90.
It's possible one was accidentally set and a bunch of other gas stations price matched (possibly automatically?)
whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 260d
or it was cut with water
FauxPseudo@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 260d
I've noticed that a common sign of dementia is thinking gas costs what it did decades ago. My step dad would be sent in to pay for gas and he'd come back thinking $10 was more than enough to fill the tank. This was when gas was $4+ a gallon.
Chuck's math is 25¢ a gallon. As you point out that is right about the price it was when he was in his prime. His post isn't just about lying for Trump. It's about mental decline.
You may be asking why my step dad with dementia was being sent in unattended to pay for gas when you could pay at the pump. Denial by his primary caregiver was also a factor. Make him do as many normal things as possible and then be shocked when they didn't work out.
Zier@fedia.io · 4 pts · 260d
It was 1953 @ $0.25/gal. The CPI puts that at $3.00 in 2025 dollars. So literally the exact price.
takeda@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 260d
... now taking into account purchasing power, since earnings did not keep up with inflation he was still much better than us.
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de · 3 pts · 260d
Gas price ranges are huge by what area you're in. You may have paid $2.90, but I paid $2.15. there's a few areas in other states that I know are under $2.00. California probably mostly over $3.00.
Handsomest_Robot@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 260d
It's apparently $3 adjusted for inflation.
Rolder@reddthat.com · 35 pts · 260d
Problem is our wages have not adjusted for inflation
winkerjadams@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 12 pts · 260d
I haven't seen it under $3 in a long while
tburkhol@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 260d
US national average is $2.85. https://gasprices.aaa.com/
baines@lemmy.cafe · 7 pts · 260d
lotta bumfuck nowhere in the us
Aviandelight@mander.xyz · 1 pts · 260d
I managed to get gas for $2.31 on Tuesday. It was a Christmas miracle.
stevedice@sh.itjust.works · 23 pts · 259d
I'm sorry. "as a college student", "72 yrs ago". You guys really need to cap the age at which a person is allowed to make decisions that impact the lives of millions of people. Jeez, at least make cognitive testing mandatory.
AlternatePersonMan@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 260d
Meanwhile everything else is much more expensive today.
Gas could double in price and it would still be the least of my concerns.
victorz@lemmy.world · 21 pts · 260d
But his math is correct?
¢25 in 1953, 72 years ago, is $3.03 when adjusted for inflation according to US Inflation Calculator.
And the current gas price is $2.4 per gallon in Iowa where he is from. (Not sure where he went to college but whatever.)
It's ¢60 cheaper per gallon now, when adjusted for inflation.
If he's right about the price he paid, he's also right about it being cheaper now.
Surely Trump didn't help during all these 72 years but the math is correct, even if the logic is flawed.
MojoMcJojo@lemmy.world · 21 pts · 260d
It sure as hell ain't $2.4 a gallon here.
victorz@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 260d
Welp, you gotta compare apples to apples.
I added the detail about the gas price in Iowa, where this senator is from. Not sure if he went to college there but meh.
MojoMcJojo@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 258d
Thanks for the clarification
victorz@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 258d
No problem buddy!
LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 259d
Yeah gas is weird because our subsidization and conflicts we create everywhere for it. For instance gas was at 3.25 in 2008 and 2.14 in 2016. It isn't as simple as saying Obama did such a great job gas fell by 58% during that time (adjusted for inflation, though I think I just did Jan 1, so that's not entirely accurate, but we get the point)
victorz@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 259d
I can imagine the gas price is a very complex and complicated beast, indeed. 😵💫
Phil_in_here@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 260d
Now do minimum wage
KittyCat@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 260d
Surprisingly it come out more or less equivalent, around 39% of an hour at minimum wage
Phil_in_here@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 260d
Great! Now do rent.
KittyCat@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 260d
That's much worse, in Iowa, average real cost has about doubled since 1953
Year Current Dollars Constant 2020 Dollars
2025 $1,027 $808
2024 $981 $807
2023 $943 $801
2022 $860 $761
2020 $808 $808
2000 $470 $724
1990 $336 $661
1980 $226 $688
1970 $99 $585
1960 $68 $516
1950 $43 $397
1940 $23 $370
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net · 1 pts · 259d
The goalpost have now passed Voyager and is the man made object farthest from earth.
CannedYeet@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 260d
Guys, why aren't you giving Trump credit for 72 years of progress in petroleum engineering and decades of wars for oil?
accideath@feddit.org · 19 pts · 260d
Adjusted for inflation from '53 to today that’s like $3 per gallon. Converted to metrics I understand that’s like 0,68€ a liter. That’s that‘s about a third of what you pay in Germany these days (incl. tax) on a bad day. (Typically around 1,80€/l)
DagwoodIII@piefed.social · 13 pts · 260d
My version of 'adjusted for inflation' is to look at what a paycheck could cover.
In 1960, the minimum wage was $1.00/hour and the average US home was $11,000.00 A high school graduate could own their own home. In those days, $1 million would buy you two fine homes, a fleet of cars, and enough left over to live off the income.
accideath@feddit.org · 12 pts · 260d
In German we‘d call that kaufkraftbereinigt. Adjusted for purchasing power.
DagwoodIII@piefed.social · 2 pts · 260d
Merry Christmas.
If you've never seen it, watch Marilyn Monroe in "How To Marry A Millionaire."
Two lines I always remember. The three gals walk into a Park Avenue duplex apartment and one gasps "This place must rent for $1,000.00 a month!"
They go to a nightclub with a live orchestra and a twenty girl chorus line. "My God, the cheapest thing on the menu is $5.00!"
Foni@piefed.zip · 4 pts · 260d
Thanks, fuck everything that isn't metric
explodicle@sh.itjust.works · 18 pts · 260d
If elected, I'll make gas even more expensive, and spend the tax revenue on bus/train infrastructure.
absentbird@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 260d
Shut up and take my vote!
AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 260d
25 years ago, I regularly filled my tank for $1/gallon. Gas prices have more than quadrupled in 25 years.
NikkiDimes@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 260d
To be fair, it's also become more difficult to get oil, relying on methods such as fracking. But also, OPEC.
BoycottTwitter@lemmy.zip · 14 pts · 260d
That's because our taxpayer dollars are used to subsidize this obsolete form of energy. We should be focusing on energy of the future instead of energy of the past.
LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 259d
"the government shouldn't be giving people things" is the dumb argument I hear so often.
Every gallon of gas, pound of beef, gallon of milk, and such have been subsidized by the government. They just ignore/don't realize it.
BoycottTwitter@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 259d
It's not that I'm opposed to all forms of giving people things. It's just that I would rather we help give people good things like solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, free or low cost bus fair. Things that will move our country forward instead of backwards.
Burninator05@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 260d
What if he can math but knows his constituents can't or won't.
real_squids@sopuli.xyz · 14 pts · 260d
Americans don't know how cheap they have it. Although adjusted for their engines and driving habits it's probably not that much different than the rest of the world
IsoKiero@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 259d
In here it's hovering roughly around 1,60 - 1,70€/l (~7 - 7,50$/gallon). Plus car tax and mandatory insurance in 1000€/year ballbark for gasoline cars, with diesel it's more but depends on the type, emission class and weight of the car.
fort_burp@feddit.nl · 12 pts · 259d
Mf is really over 90 y.o. I had to check his wikipedia page 😱
Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 259d
He's a really fucking old ass dude. When he was 20 years old gas was around $3.05 a gallon if you adjust for inflation. It's $4.50 near me right now.
But hey, let's talk about wages and electricity costs. Let's chat about rent and the cost of a house these days. Let's see what the cost of goods and groceries is doing. Most of us need computers, so let's talk about RAM and SSD costs under this regime that just dereguated AI and is nullifying state AI laws.
It's all worse.
Edit: let's just do the first two.
SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 260d
And yet the media just repeats this bullshit until most low-info Americans think it's the truth.
Blackmist@feddit.uk · 9 pts · 260d
Just think how cheap it can go if the US drinks Venezuela's milkshake.
itsprobablyfine@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 260d
Yup at the low low cost of checks military budget oh. I love when we subsidize car drivers and oil tycoons with young people's lives, foreign state sovereignty, and the habitability of the only planet we currently occupy.
plyth@feddit.org · 1 pts · 259d
$1 trillion military budget for 330 million is $3,000 per Person. At 600 gallons for $3 each per year, if you don't pay tripple as in other countries, that's break even.
bcgm3@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 260d
Spending a dollar to make a dime -- Might as well be the official slogan for US government spending.
Blackmist@feddit.uk · 9 pts · 259d
"And we got free lead in it too!"
sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml · 9 pts · 260d
Yeah I wonder how we got the gas to stay that cheap. I wouldn't worry about it.
Godric@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 260d
Turns out OP can't math hahaha
MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown@fedia.io · 6 pts · 260d
It’s still more expensive than the last time he tanked the economy. He can still fuck it up more.
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org · 4 pts · 260d
ChuckGrassley isn't wrong, but he should have concentrated more on proper phrasing instead of using textspeak.
source
And according to the AAA the national average as of today is $2.847.
HOWEVER, and I cannot stress this enough, this is about the only thing MAGA policy is running on (probably because they can directly influence gas prices). If you want to criticize the current government I suggest you look at the larger picture here.
First_Thunder@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 260d
You do have to take into consideration that part of the reason that prices fell is mostly Saudi Arabia deciding to pump a ton of oil, and the fear of cooler global demand (this one due to MAGA, since they caused fears of a global recession)
lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.com · 4 pts · 260d
Post not accessible: needs link to source
Is the joke that the replier doesn't understand inflation? CPI calculator
GladiusB@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 260d
This statistic is so useless all it is proving is that not all statistics are useful in proving a point.
VitoRobles@lemmy.today · 0 pts · 259d
FIFY
vala@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 259d
r
DarkFuture@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 259d
JUST. DIE.
CallMeAnAI@lemmy.world · -4 pts · 260d
Fuck schumer, but I'm not sure where he's wrong here.
Gas is absurdly cheap rn and the math seems close?
Edit: nvm, noticed musk.
bklyn@piefed.social · 6 pts · 260d
This is from Senator Chuck Grassley, not Chuck Schumer