What is the biggest difference between the economy in the 1950's and now?

Question

I have a coworker tell me that he doesnt like sports anymore because there were alot better players back in the day and they never made what the weakest players make now and i dont agree with him becuase it was a completely different era. so i want to know how the economy has changed and why to cause such a big difference in prices.

Answer 1

This is the economy of sports you are interested in right? It is mostly supply and demand issues. Limit supply or increase demand and prices will go up, where price is the salary of an average player.

Demand. The number of teams has increased. Hockey is what I know. In 1950 their were 6 NHL franchises. Today there are 30. That means 5 times the players are needed. So that explains both why you are willing to pay more even for players with less skills. Because you need them.

Demand. In the 50's there were 3 national TV stations. Today there are more channels just dedicated strictly to sports. That means we see a lot more of those games on TV than they use to. There are a lot of hours that need to be filled with something on those stations. It means stations are competing with each other and bidding up the price on what they are willing to pay. Look at the Monday Night Football contract and the Superbowl contract.

Supply. Athletes are smarter and more business like now than in the 1950. Back then, a player was on his own and would accept the deal offered him. Today, they get an agent, and they have a players union or association. Basically it is agreed that there is the minimum terms that if they go under, they wont have a supply. I hand it to the players, on one hand they make too much, on the other hand I would rather see them get their share than have owners use them and dump them like they did in the 50's.

I am not even sure if you are comparing the same job. Today - a player in the Superbowl playing in front of 65,000 people in the seats, and 90 million watching on TV. The 50's - no Superbowl.

Answer 2

Well for starters, 1950 was 30 years later. Communism had spread like crazy and the economy was pretty good.

Answer 3

In the 1950's, government wasn't run like a big charity. Government was suppposed to spend the taxpayers money on sensible things. Charities took care of the poor and people who couldn't work. Institutions took care of the homeless. Otherwise, you either worked or starved. Now government gives money away to people who refuse to work. The homeless have been thrown out on the streets and now we have a "homeless problem." You Know, after the Chicago fire, Chicago was rebuilt with private donations..!! Makes you wonder...

Answer 4

I'm a little vague on how you've worded this, but, to list a few of the differences between now and then:
1) Europe and Japan were still recovering from WWII and were not yet serious economic rivals.
2) the countries of Africa and South America had not yet begun their paths to self-rule, and the leadership of those countries were willing to pose themselves simply as suppliers of raw materials to the industrial nations.
3) America had, essentially "re-tooled" itself during the war, and so was in the best position as an industrial power.
4) Americans had a surplus of capital due to savings during the war, and so they were a market open to nearly anything.
---In short, America was, briefly, in an unusually privelleged position economically due to the aftermath of the war.

Answer 5

If you're just talking about sports, then the introduction and evolution of TV's around this time definately boosted the supply and demand (as stated above) of sports entertainment.

Sorry my answer is so short compared to the other two, lol.