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To: Professor Dotcomm who wrote (91111)	11/12/2002 10:33:09 AM
From: E. Charters	Respond to of 116922

I don't really hold with the value divider a lot. If a value has intrinsic labour saving, or provides much better quality or length of life then it is inarguable. But a DVD or a colour boob tube is moot as to what it provides. Penicillin, chlorination, vaccination and refrigeration might be value dividers but the jury is out on computers unless you factor that they may have shortened the WWII. They seem to lengthen my day now by contrast. What I see is easy to figure is the amount of money necessary to raise a family in a dwelling that is dry, has so many rooms, and is paid for in 2/3's a man's working life. Basic transportation adjusts to society's perceived needs. The 1954 Hudson Commodore had more luxuries on average than a Cadillac today. Power seat, power top, power backseat, tilt steering, power brakes, auto transmission leather seats etc.. But it still used wheels to get from point A to B and its mpg did not exceed the 1934 Ford. What I see is that it takes two salaries to raise a family today and they are always short of money. Disposable income for the labourer is a myth. Countervailing to the value divider and the improved goods is the idea of planned obsolescence and the flood of cheap Asian goods of low quality. Clothes are all made of plastic, and cannot be repaired. Cloth is thin short and wears fast. Alterations cannot be done as spare cloth is not there. On the average shirts today wear about 1/4 as long as the rayon and sanforized cottons of the 1950's and 1960's. Cars still rust out and perhaps faster than 50 years ago, so who cares if engines last longer? You will never keep the junk that long anyway. If you want value stop looking past 1945. I think engineering in North America peaked in 1934. Tech revolution and transistors have not improved quality, just ability. EC<:-}