Posted 11/17/2009 7:20:00 AM
I thumbed through an old Popular Mechanics... From October 1950...
Fascinating trip back in time but also a solid lesson in what’s wrong with the US economy today.
There were countless ads...Seiberling Tires...South Bend precision lathes...Atlastic Underwear...Wham-O slingshots...Syncro Electric sanders...Kodak cameras...and on and on and on.
In 1950, all this stuff was designed and manufactured in the United States. Today 90% of it comes from Asia. The people who manufactured it in local plants in places like Ramey Pennsylvania and Oxford Michigan have no modern counterparts!
In short, the blue collar work force has been decimated. Today you’re either a college grad making big bucks in computers or finance or else you’re flipping hamburgers. The working class of the fifties provided solidity. It nourished local communities. And it bought what it made.
Sure. There’s progress. Some of those old ads promote $3500 a year as a good income. Mind you ...
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