Will your hourly wage buy a case of beer?

Here’s something well worth reading. Charles Hugh-Smith makes a convincing case against the common mantra that “we’ve never had it so good.” How many times have you heard that? That writer is a serious pundit, whereas I’m just the pot-addled hillbilly blogger, but I have made similar observations, using different metrics. Can I buy an ounce of weed with my hourly pay? Or a carton of smokes? Or a case of beer? To be honest, I’m a pensioner with the good fortune to actually have a pension. The “hourly wage” thing does not apply. Frankly, there was never a time in my working life that an hour’s pay bought an ounce of weed. Maybe a quarter ounce at best. But a carton of smokes or a case of beer? Absolutely! Today a case of 24 tall cans runs sixty bucks or more. The tobacco addicts not patronizing the smoke shops at their local Indian reservation are spending well over a hundred for a carton! So Mr. Smith is 100% on the money. After 75 years of capitalist prosperity, only the rich can afford to indulge the basic vices.