1973 Median yearly earnings*:             $25,980
   Hourly earnings:            $12.99
1970 Median housing cost (adj. $):         $65,300

Median housing, in units of median hours worked:   5027
   Years worked:               2.51


2005 Median yearly earnings*:             $28,580
   Hourly earnings:            $14.29
2005 Median housing cost:            $213,900

Median housing, in units of median hours worked:   14,968
   Years worked:               7.48


Percent change in housing cost as a function of hours worked:   +197.8%
         Or
Cost of housing as a function of percentage of hours worked:   297.8%


A person or family in 2005 has to work three times as long and/or three times as hard to afford the same sort of housing as they would have in the early 1970s.

Using Median instead of Mean is an old and dishonest trick. Now go find the REAL average.

As fas as inflation...there's milk, and gas....and that's it...Your 1000 dollars changed much more from 87-97 than it did from 97-07

How is using median dishonest?

"Mean" income is less meaningful in the U.S. because the rich are so much richer than the rest of us. An example from the late Molly Ivins:

"If Bill Gates walked into a soup kitchen with a nun and 40 homeless people, the mean net worth of all the people in the room would be $1,000,000,000. But there would still be one rich person and 41 poor people."

Median is therefore far more meaningful, because half of the population make more and half makes less. What is dishonest about that?

Yes, that is houshold income. My figures were based on single earner income, to illustrate the amount of work one person would require to pay for an average house.

Yes, I summarized - god forbid! As I said, the original figures are available for anyone to look up.

I would vote SOCIALISM, I believe is a better option than PATRIOTISM, because patriotism could lead to FANATICISM, a kind of what is happening right now across U.S.

Well played.

While I am NOT a socialist, I personnally prefer capitalism and the open and free market, (which we do NOT have in America today because of socialist and communist policies being forced illegally on Americans), I don't believe that socialism and patriotism are counter to one another.

For example, Dennis Kucinich is openly SOCIALIST.  He will not only acknowledge his socialist bent in public, but will consitently defend socialist principals all the while, calling them socialist principals.  However, noone would dare deny that Dennis Kucinich is a true PATRIOT.  His PATRIOTISM is demonstrated by his love for our country and his recognition that it is our differences from every other country in the world that made our country the greatest country in the world.  He carries a pocket Constiutution.  Now, that's love for your country and its distinctions.

Now, I am not sure why you would think that a, "chicken in every pot," -ism has anything to do with the, "love of our country," -ism much less be a choice that must be made between the two.

You can be a patriotic socialist, a patriotic communist, and a patriotic capitalist.  I mean the guys over in Russia, during the cold war, loved their "Mother Russia," very much, and would NEVER have shown support for the dissolution of Russian power.  They were certainly PATRIOTIC although COMMUNIST.

Same in this country.  PATRIOTISM is the love for one's country.  Understand, the GLOBALIST agenda is to dissolve the borders of each country and recreate new borders as regions.  Here in the North America, there are more troops on Mexico's 150 mile wide southern border with Guatemala, than there are on our 1,500 mile wide southern border with Mexico.  That border is wide open, despite the claims that there is a, "War on Terror," and that we have a DHS dedicated to stopping terrorists.  Wanna take a guess at where the GLOBALISTS want to place their border for the NAU?

In the dissolution of the US borders, will also be the disolution of the US Constitution and US Soverignty.  The only way to fight against a group of people that seek to dissolve your country's borders, is to show these people just how important those borders are.  I.e. showing love for your country.  Showing that, for you, the good of your country, the good 'ole USofA, is MORE IMPORTANT than the needs or the good of another country.

And everyone should keep in mind, that Mexico, is probably the most corrupt government in the Western Hemisphere.  Not only is the Mexican government heavily involved in illegal activities like narco-trafficking and sex/child sex trafficking, Mexico itself has 3 times the natural resources of the United States, yet the country's people have a poverty problem that floods millions into America each year.  

Now, if we simply removed the free trade agreements and pressured the elitist 10% of Mexico that holds 90% of Mexico's wealth, to share the countries resources through the use of tax incentives, you might find your solution to the illegal imigration problem.  However, the GLOBALISTS don't want a solution to illegal immigration, they want a blending that will bring the American poor down to the level of the Mexican poor, and simultaneously rid the elitists of the middle class along with middle class wages and work benefits.  

Hell, if we just demanded that Mexico adopt our Bill of Rights, and allow these peasant farmers the right to purchase and own weapons.  You would see a government come correct faster than you could possibly imagine.  Instead, the GLOBALISTS errode our 2nd Amendment rights, so they can treat us like Mexican peasant farmers without fear of being shot.

But I digress......

So, go on and continue to be a socialist.  I would love to debate those principals and the benefits of a capitalist and a Constitutionalist over socialism, but whether you are capialist, socialist, communist, anarchist, crack-pot-ist, it doesn't matter, LOVE YOUR COUNTRY.  Even if your country is Canada or Mexico, LOVE YOUR COUNTRY.  If you are here in the US, take the time to understand the differences from other countries that made the US the greatest country in the world and demand that the GLOBALIST not interfere with those differences for the sake of increased efficiency and cheaper prices.  Get to really understand why this Constitutional Republic is rarity and not easily created or kept.  Understand why it is important to maintain vigilence in the protection of our rights, and keeping our rights away from the nutjobs in our government, especially when they seek to infringe upon thoze rights.

This government did NOT give us our rights, this government does NOT protect our rights for us.  The only thing this government can do with our rights, is TAKE THEM FROM US.  In fact, in today's REAL WORLD, the only group of people in the world that can possibly take away our rights, our liberties, and our freedoms, is this government.  Not the terrorists, not the fanatics, not the crazies, or the Muslims, or the gays, or jews, ONLY OUR GOVERNMENT.  It's up to YOU to help protect our rights from this government.

Now, the reason you are seeing an increased level of "fanatisism" is a simple reason.  In 2006, the country voted into power the democrats.  They overwhelmingly went to the polls and shifted the balance of power over to the dems in both the House and Senate.  The American people did so for one simple unmistakable reason.  THEY WANTED A CHANGE.  Not just Iraq, and the "War on Terror," but civil liberties, torture policies, etc....

The Dems pushing the elections were saying we need a, "change."  When the Dems won, it was, "now, we will make some changes."  Has anything changed?  It's actually gotten worse, right?  I mean if you went to the polls in 2006, and voted for "change" would you say that there has been a significant "change" since the elections?  I sure would not.

So, despite the will of the people, the law-makers, and the law-enforcement, continue their overwhelmingly unpopular policies.  The government should fear its people, is there any indication that this government fears its people?  Is there any indication that the governent gives a sh-t one way or another about the "will of the people?"  

The "top tiered" candidates ALL support the, "War on Terror," the occupation of Iraq and Afganistan, the escilation of war in the Middle East, NAFTA, CAFTA, the FTAA, the SPP, increased involvement in the UN, increased involvement in the WHO, the world bank, the IMF, even though the overwhelming majority of America are against every single one of these issues.  To restate for dramatic effect.  ALL of the "top tiered" candidates support policies that the overwhelming majority of America do NOT support, yet, "top tiered" candidates continue to get elected and support these policies.

Of course that is going to cause, "fanatisism."  That's good honest Americans getting pissed off that the government is not paying attention to the needs of good honest Americans.  When that happenes, people start quoting our fore-fathers because they had a solution to the problem of a government not listening to its people.

FreeinTX