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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Joan Osland Graffius who wrote (65226)	7/25/1999 5:40:00 PM
From: Merritt	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Joan: In '39 my father bought our house for cash...$3,750 for nine rooms in three stories, the top story having an ocean view and the ground level given over to the mechanicals of the house (a coal-fed central heating system - one of my chores was stoking the furnace<g>), garage and laundry and workshop areas. The first widespread instance of consumer credit, to my recollection, was a variation, or reversal, on The Christmas Clubs in the 50's (if you don't remember, they were a savings plan in which the member would pay in a specified amount throughout the year, and then withdraw the money for Christmas spending - credit plan in reverse). Then there was a concerted effort to increase consumer demand for appliances ("Don't be a dishwasher, buy one!," is one slogan that comes to mind), and as a part of that, the offering of "easy Payment plans." Post-War mortgages were offered, with a minimum down payment of 20%, and only if the payments didn't exceed 25% of the husband's earnings (if the wife worked, her income was not included in the lending company's calculations). Car loans were also given, but with similar requirements. Pre-War credit, from what I was told, was non-existent. Having been born in '39, I don't have any personal recollection. The bottom line is that there were dramatically different credit circumstances and exposure...it being much more difficult to get in over one's head. Gosh, it's hard to believe that we once saved for the things we wanted...but what it really meant was that we didn't buy throw-away items, things were planned for and their purchase eagerly anticipated. It wasn't all that bad.