It's time to revisit where we were a century ago. This ought to boggle your mind. The year is 1903, one hundred years ago... what a difference a century makes... Here are the U. S. statistics for 1903.... The average life expectancy in the US was 47. Only 14% of the homes in the US had a BATHTUB. Only 8% of the homes had a TELEPHONE. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11. There were only 8,000 CARS in the US and only 144 miles of paved ROADS. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower. The average wage in the US was $0.22/hour. The average US worker made between $200-$400/year. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000/year, a dentist $2,500/year, a veterinarian between $1,500-$4,000/year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000/year. More than 95% of all BIRTHS in the US took place at HOME. 90% of all US physicians had NO COLLEGE education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard." Sugar cost $0.04/pound. Eggs were $0.14/dozen. Coffee cost $0.15/pound. Most women only washed their HAIR once a month and used BORAX or EGG YOLKS for shampoo. Canada passed a law prohibiting POOR people from entering the country for any reason. The five leading causes of death in the US were: 1. Pneumonia & influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30. There was no Mr. Green Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented. There were no Mother's Day or Father's Day. One in ten US adults couldn't read or write. Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from HIGH SCHOOL. Coca Cola contained cocaine. Marijuana, heroin and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." 18% of households in the US had at least one full-time SERVANT or domestic. There were only about 230 reported MURDERS in the entire US.
LOL! Actually there WAS, but back then (in simpler times) there was no internet access under that particular bridge. DL
Good to see accountants and dentists are doing about the same. 3-4 times the national average. Shame about the engineers however. There wages seem to have dropped a lot over the period.
<real answer> An Engineer was the only person on that list in 1903 who had to go to college to learn their craft. Inovation was booming. </real answer> OR <left wing> It's Bushes fault. </left wing>
There is an even more interesting statistic. In the 1900 census, either 90% or 95% of the people responding classifiied themselves as self employed (mostly farmers). By the 2000 census, this number dropped to 5%. In 100 years, we went from a nation of business owners to a nation of employees. The biggest push came from WWII. Not only did WWII create a nation of employees, it also saw the birth of income tax withholding. Who cares? Well, if you have never been self employed, you will never get the joke about how the world really works. Most of my neighbors are corporate animals who have never had to meet a payroll (out of their own pocket) in their life. I don't socialize with them much because all they do is ***** about their entitlements, e.g., those SOBs raised my deductible from $100 to $250! Or they gripe about their stock options or 401(k) or whatever... If I ask them what have they done to help their company make money, they look at me like I have SARS or something. Sad to say, but most employees see the world as a one-way street. Namely, what's in it for me, baby. Trust me, your policital views will turn once you become self employed. My epiphany came one Sunday afternoon when I realized that I was the only one in the office, and I was the last to get paid. If I could, I'd make it mandatory that everybody had to be self employed for at least a couple of years. My bet is that this idea would dramatically change the public's opinion about entitlements. Aren't you glad that I'm not in charge! Happy Holidays everybody, DrTax
DrTax: How did that old joke go about the government working crying at his desk because 'HIS farmer died'?
Now that I look at these stats again I realize that this describes exactly what India is today. Average income is in the hundreds of dollars, most people are farmers and Engineers are the highest paid folks etc, etc.... I'd agree with Dr. Tax but I thik there is still a lot of fire in many of the young people. They seem more likely to start a buiness then their parents and maybe they can kill off the huge system of corporate welfare that exisits today. It is almost always the best young people that quit and start their own companies. This why so many big companies are doing anything they can to lower the cost of the mediocre workforce that is willing to subscribe to the system their parents lived with for the last 75 years.
Also, we just had the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers flight in North Carolina in 1903. I think its amazing that we have gone from that simple aircraft to the billion dollar stealths and planes we have today.
Mass production and the machine tool made it all possible I agree with DrTax, everyone want things handed to them today and they feel its in our constitution they are entitled to a job
More like: Land of the Free after In-Store Coupon, Manufacturer Coupon, In-store Rebate, Manufacturer Rebate and Home of the Braves playing on Turner Field.
