POD 8/22/12 SALVO tablets

[launderess]

Inflation & 1970's Television Shows

Most all the sitcoms of the era addressed inflation, All in the Family,Maude, Good Times, Sanford and Son, etc.. MTM and other more "vanilla" shows made subtle hints "Mary looking at the price of that small packet of meat then chucking it into her trolley with a look of disgust on her face, *LOL*).

Carol Burnett got into the act with her "Mama's Family" skits as well. One time Mrs. Harper was moaning to Eunice about how dry her meatballs were, to which the latter shot back it was because she had to use *lots* of breadcrumbs to stretch a few pounds of ground beef to feed them all.

That is how bad thing were. Every housewife/person counted themselves lucky if money was coming into the home but it often didn't go far. So you got creative in making the food budget stretch. There were lots of dishes and new recipes made from cheap cuts of beef , or chicken and pork. Crock Pots which had really hit the market in stride allowed a housewive to make that favourite staple of budget stretching the pot roast , whilst not having to stay around all day and mind the range.

You also had lots of "new" food extenders such as "Hamburger Helper" and later "Tuna Helper" if one needed to get creative. LOL*

One of the most sadest things one remembers hearing during the 1970's was that some seniors were reduced to eating canned dog food. Good Times and IIRC a few other sitcoms/television programs took up the issue and it was just pitiful.

Because of inflation those on fixed incomes including SS just couldn't make ends meet. After paying for meds and other household expenses the kitty was simply empty. The outcry and noise got Congress to finally adjust how it adjusts cost of living "COLA" for SS which would give seniors some breathing room.

As if the inflation of the 1970's wasn't bad enough it was also the start of the decline in American manufacturing and shipping jobs overseas. It seemed every other week some union from longshoremen to automakers was threatening to or shut down some plant or another. What fueled this was you had lots of American men often in the prime of their working lives being chucked out of rather good paying jobs for persons with barely a high school degree. Red Forman on That 70's Show is a prime example of what went on. Men who fought in WWII, Korea and Vietnam were being told "see ya" as plant after plant shut down.

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[danemodsandy]

And There Was:

"You also had lots of "new" food extenders such as "Hamburger Helper" and later "Tuna Helper" if one needed to get creative."

There's also an ad for a little-remembered '70s product on the wall behind Mary. It's for "Hamburger II," which was ground beef stretched with the addition of textured vegetable protein.

A lot of housewives swore by it.

A lot of husbands swore AT it.

 

[tomturbomatic]

And then there were the utility rates. I was living in a total electric apartment built before the rates shot up. It was by no means a Gold Medallion construction place. Winter just about killed us. The power companies instituted their fuel charge adjustments and monthly bills went through the roof. I moved to another total electric apartment that was properly insulated and that still included the electricity in the rent before finishing up school and moving up here.

I remember that the department store I worked in had to keep price records to show customers to prove we were not raising prices unfairly to help the inflation, but that did not really work because it was the increased cost of fuel in 1973 that was driving prices. Free delivery on small purchases slammed to a halt after the first energy crisis. My roommate and I tried a hamburger extender and with enough seasoning, it was not bad. There was a mini series at the time set during WWII. The title might have been Homefront. In one scene, the carpool was picking up riders, but only on downhill streets or at stop signs. The car would not stop, but would slow so that the man could run and grab the post of the open door and swing in. In the show, the mother was making meatloaf and extending it with corn flakes.

Up here, I found out that large apartment buildings cut back on the temperature of the hot water to save money. I think it was the winter of 1978 when the temperatures up here stayed below freezing for 30 days. Heat pumps were running on back up heat the whole time--OUCH!. I remember that snow stayed on the ground for more than a month and the surface of the snow would melt slightly from the sun then refreeze at night which produced a mirror surface that reflected lights and signs at night just like clear still water. It was beautiful. I had not seen it before nor have I seen it since. Then, near the end of the 70s came another oil shock and prices rose again. It was painful, but it forced a lot of energy improvement based renovations.

 

[danemodsandy]

One Thing.....

....That was great about the adjustments of the '70s was that people seemed to understand better that energy and money savings depended on their personal actions. They turned thermostats down, drove less, stretched food more.

Now, people want their stuff to do it all for them. They want a huge luxury SUV that saves gas. They want "smart" refrigerators to save energy, and never mind that the kids leave the door open all the time. They want cheap food, even if some of the cost savings come from making it in China or exploiting illegal migrant farm workers.

To this day, I cannot put a pot of water on to boil uncovered; it boils faster with less energy use. I still make some budget-stretching dishes from that time - though, I hasten to add, not my mother's meat loaf. If Truth in Advertising applied in the home, she'd have had to call it just "loaf." I am sting-GEEE with the heat and air-conditioning, and I still group trips out to maximize my return on gasoline expenses.

 

[danemodsandy]

Oops!

I meant to say that a pot of water boils faster with less energy use when COVERED.

My bad.

 

[polkanut]

Kevin,

Any other interesting detergent finds for sale again soon?

 

[tomturbomatic]

Ignorance has a price and it's climbing all of the time.

 

[dirtybuck]

My Apologies

I am mistaken...it looked like a bakery product to me. That looked like bread hanging above the display case.

Please forgive me.

 

[neptunebob]

Smile, Mary, life isn't so bad!

With the look on her face, she looks like she is putting a feminine hygiene spray in the cart. Those were a big deal in the 70s too, even when all my sisters say "but you're not supposed to need it".

 

[jamiel]

Looks like she was at her friendly neighborhood Red Owl supermarket