Easy street

Washington Monthly, Sept, 2005 by Charles Peters

Today, practically everyone in the middle class is building a McMansion, or at least wants to. For a feeling of what the average man wanted in 1940-41, consider an ad from Union Central Life Insurance Company that depicted $200 a month as a generous income.

The ad was a great success because that sum struck most of us as not only more than adequate, but also as all we could reasonably desire. Of course, back then bread was 10 cents a loaf, a new car could be bought for $650, and what is called a starter house today went for $5,000 or so. Still, it is true that not nearly as many people wanted to be rich or wanted to be rich enough to make it their main ambition, as it seems to be for far too many of today's middle class.