>>Well in fact "inflation-adjusted" means nothing. It's just another of those things thrown out there to make us feel better about things. Gasoline is cheaper when "inflation-adjusted" too. Yet it still takes more of my money today to fill the tank than it did last year or 10 years ago!
>
>It's working hours per unit of goods that's the good measure. Money floats, prices float, but the day still has 24 hours (or twice 12, in imperial units). I've heard a lot of those back home - how many workhours does it take to buy this or that. Compared across time or across countries. Don't remember hearing any of those here.
>
>In the immortal monologue of a colleague of mine (colleague only in the formal sense - he was teaching PE)
>
>"Look, 20 years ago when I was a rookie, for one rookie salary I could have bought 200 shots of brandy!"
>"So?"
>"You know how much we make now."
>"I know"
>"You know how much is a shot of brandy."
>"I know."
>"There you go - divide it. How much did you get?"
>"Two hundred"
>"There - and you go figure."

That may be true of booze:

Back in the 70s, a pint of lager was, say, 19p, whereas the average wage, say, £30 per week = 150 pints (ish);
now a pint's £3 but wage = £450 per week = 150 pints (ish)

But one thinks of back in the 50s/60s where someone would have to work for a month, say, to buy a TV. Now he can pick one up in his lunch hour for a day's pay or less. Instead of one TV in the lounge, there's one in practically every room - even kids have their own.

It just seems to hurt more when you flash paper instead of metal :-)