The Alignment Economy · Essential Basket · Indexed Growth Since 1979
The Cost of Staying In the Game
Six things a person needs to remain economically functional, and what workers were paid, all indexed to 1979 = 100. Each point is the average for the year, 1979 through 2025. Prices are not adjusted for inflation.
Medical care
price rise since 1979, the largest of the six
Shelter
price rise since 1979
Worker wages
rise in average hourly pay since 1979, before inflation
Medical care costs about 8.6 times what it did in 1979, and shelter about 6 times. Average hourly pay for production and nonsupervisory workers is about 5 times what it was. Pay rose faster than prices overall, and slower than shelter and medical care. Telephone service is the only line that ended lower than it began.