Media Contact: Dr. Mike Walden

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June 17, 1997

YOU DECIDE: WERE THE "GOOD OLD DAYS" THAT GOOD?

It's probably human nature for most of us to look back on days past as the "good old days." Life was simpler, prices were lower, and the environment was cleaner, or so we think.

But maybe our memory is clouded by nostalgic thoughts of the past. When we look at facts and statistics, was the past really that good? Thanks to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, here are some comparisons to consider.

Let's first examine some numbers on material well-being for the average American household. The average size of a newly built home increased 40 percent from 1970 to 1990. In 1970, only 34 percent of American homes were air-conditioned; by 1990, 76 percent of homes had cooling.

Likewise, 34 percent of households had color TVs in 1970. In 1990, 96 percent of American homes had color TVs. The net worth of households doubled between 1970 and 1990 in constant purchasing power dollars. So, based on material holdings, we'd have to conclude there's been significant improvements in the past twenty years.

Americans also appear to spend less time working to achieve this improved material wealth. The average work week has fallen 15 percent since 1950 and is down over 33 percent since the turn of the century. It's also estimated the average American worker had four hours of leisure time for every hour at work in 1990. In 1950, workers had only two hours of leisure for every hour of work.

Of course, today there are more "two-worker" households than in the past, where both parents work outside the home. Many of these households say both parents need to earn a paycheck in order to achieve the desired standard of living for the family. That may be so, but statistics still show that one-worker families have improved their standard of living since 1960.

Let me be quick to say that I understand there's more to life than material wealth. Maybe the past was better in terms of "quality of life" factors.

Well, consider these trends. The average life expectancy has increased five years since 1970, eight years since 1950, and 25 years since 1900. The ability of modern medicine to treat illnesses and diseases is infinitely better than in the past. The rate of accidental deaths has plunged 35 percent since 1970 and 40 percent since 1950. An index of air pollution is down a whopping 65 percent since 1970.

One social indicator that hasn't improved from years past is crime. Although there has been recent progress, today's crime rate is almost triple the rate in 1960. So the summary picture is that we're living longer, taking more leisure time, consuming more, and living in a cleaner environment than in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. The improvements are even more dramatic compared to the turn of the century. One negative fact is that we feel less safe today.

Of course, these are average trends, and they're not meant to imply that life is better today for everyone. But for a large number of citizens, today may very well be the "good old days."

You decide!

Dr. Walden is a professor and North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service specialist at North Carolina State University. You Decide endeavors to provide a balanced look at a variety of economic, public policy and personal finance issues. This feature is provided every two weeks by Dr. Walden and the Department of Agricultural Communications at NC State University.