May 31, 2007

Living in the Twilight Zone

By Stan Dyer

I was watching back to back episodes of the old, black and white TV series, "The Twilight Zone" the other night. The episodes from 1962 were both interesting and nostalgic. They were interesting because they offered a glimpse of the way people thought 45 years ago, their vision of the future, and the items they considered the "height" of technology. They were nostalgic because they offered a glimpse at styles, customs, and, most of all, prices.

In the first episode, and old man goes to a business that offers him the opportunity to trade in his old, tired body, for a new, 20-year-old body guaranteed to last over 112 years. He is with his wife who is the love of his life, and they want to do the trade-in together. Their problem is that each body trade will cost $5,000, which, I suppose, was quite a bit of money in 1962. Unfortunately, they only had $5,000, so only one of them would be able to undergo the operation.

I'm not going to give away the ending, but think about that amount of money, $5,000. On this show, they made it sound like quite a bit of money, but the man was purchasing an entire, new body expected to last 112 years. In 1962, it represented the old man's entire life savings, but in modern money, that amount isn't that much, and would never buy an entire body. Instead, he would barely be able to buy a breast augmentation for his wife. In 1962, it was enough money to buy a small house, a big car, or pay for a college education. Today, $5,000 is a decent down payment on a home, will buy a small, used car, and might pay for a semester of education at college. Sure, we all expect times and prices to change but it makes you wonder how prices will change in the next 45 years. If the level of increase remains the same for the next 45 years, an average home will cost $8,400,000.00, an average car will cost $140,000, and a college education will cost around $320,000. It certainly makes you think, but it gets better.

In the next episode, a man named "Frisby" owns and operates his own general store that also sells gasoline. I chuckled as the customers waited outside for Frisby to come fill up their tank. I guess we've all become used to serving ourselves. After Frisby filled the tank, he went to the driver to ask for payment. "That'll be $1.87", he said. It didn't hit me at first, and I thought maybe they were just topping off their tank, but a half a gallon hardly seems worth it. Then, it occurred to me that Frisby probably sold them closer to five and half gallons for about .35 a gallon. In today's money, Frisbee would say, "That'll be $18.10". As with the previous story, if the escalation of prices continues the next 45 years at the same level of the previous 45, in 2052 we'll be paying around $21.68 for a gallon of gas, and that's if there are no embargos or hurricanes. The truth is that supply will likely decrease while demand increases and prices will probably be even higher than that if a viable alternative doesn't become available.

It's funny to look back at 1962 and see what items ended up in the Twilight Zone, and which were insignificant. That year was also the year of the "Missiles of October", conflict in Viet Nam, and the Civil Rights Movement. Times have changed, prices have changed and issues have changed. It makes a person wonder how future generations will look back at this one, and if they'll see a generation that lived in its own "Twilight Zone". "There's a signpost up ahead. Your next stop? The future."