$4000 in 1933

Yes, $4,000 was indeed a lot of money back in 1933 (almost 80 years ago...I write this in 2009), and a thrifty pensioner could do Ok on that for the rest of his life.

Working class people in the early 1930's typically earned $15 per week and that could pay rent for an OK house or apt., pay for food, basic clothing, etc......some people (many people, maybe) supported families (in a thrifty way) on money that small.

The idea with pensions back then (and now, too) was you were supposed to have paid off your house, and had basically no major capital expenses facing you....you just needed money for food....kept wearing clothes you already had.

Doctors still made home visits back then, and charged maybe $2 for a standard house call. Medications doctors prescribed didn't cost much...also just a few bucks at local indy drug stores (NO drug store chains or mega-drug companies back then charging $10 per pill for treatment expected to go on for years).

A big day at the local amusement park in 1933 for 10 children going on maybe 5 rides each (ferris wheel, roller coaster, etc.) plus a sit down lunch or dinner could easily have been pulled off for $20 total....not a big chunk at all of Cap's $4,000.

Life was better in 1933 for many reasons....things were cheaper and people were decenter and kinder, and that included landlords, healthcare people, and vendor sources people depended on...drug stores, hospitals, entertainment venues. Less crime, cleaner cities, cheap public transportation, great public park and recreation systems (concerts in park bandstands in every city which had public parks, etc.).

What happened?

In 1932, the world population crossed over from one billion (at which it had arrived in 1850) to two billion people...total.

Population for the entire USA back in 1933 was maybe 100 million. (It's now ....2009..... around 300 million).

Two billion worldwide total was a workable number. It got to 3 billion by the early 1950's and just recently skyrocketed/ crossed over into SEVEN BILLION recently (2009).

That's too many people, all scrambling for life's necessities...which explains why things previously cheap NOW cost too much...not enough to go around, despite claims about how "we've never had it so good."

The world is NOW filled with people all of whom need things which were easier to get, and cheaper, in 1932.

I hope Cap enjoyed his $4,000 back pension he finally got in MILK AND MUSH (1933).

In 1933 $4000 would be equivalent to 200 oz. of gold...gold was valued at $20 an oz.

As of now 04/03/2010, 20 oz. of gold would be about $225,000. I would say Cap would have had a comfortable life ahead of him.

Gold keeps pace with inflation...it's not that things were cheaper then, our money has been devalued over the years and it takes more to buy the same things. For example, 1 oz. of gold would have bought about 300 loaves of bread in the 30s, it will still buy the same 300 loaves today.