In Wednesday's release of Consumer Price Index data June showing prices jumping 1.3 percent from May to June and 9.1 percent in the last 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that inflation has not been as red-hot since November of 1981.
To add some context to the four decade-high that inflation has hit, Townhall took a trip down memory lane and a look into the 1981 almanac to see what was going on the last time prices were as out of control as they are today. Here's what we found.
In 1981, the federal minimum wage was $3.35 per hour and the average national income was $10,495. The best-selling car was the Oldsmobile Cutlass and songs like "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie and "9 To 5" by Dolly Parton were topping Billboard charts. Superman II was the top-grossing movie, and Americans put Dallas, The Jeffersons, and Three's Company at the top of the TV ratings.
??On August 15, 1981, ‘Endless Love’ by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 pic.twitter.com/Fwk4C3EmW1
— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) August 15, 2021
IBM's First Personal Computer Is Released
The first PC from IBM was rolled out on August 12,1981 with an introductory price tag of $1,565 and came with 16 kilobytes of RAM and a port to allow the attachment of a cassette tape recorder.
In 1981, IBM released its first PC.
— Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) November 15, 2020
The full model cost the equivalent of $8,500 in today’s prices. pic.twitter.com/Xxg9KbW4MZ
Ronald Reagan Shot in Assassination Attempt
On March 30, 1981, Ronald Reagan is shot while departing the Washington Hilton.
VP George H.W. Bush and Secretary of State Alexander Haig in White House Situation Room after Reagan assassination attempt, March 30, 1981: pic.twitter.com/boVLw1beNd
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) October 2, 2020
Raiders of the Lost Ark Premiers
The first Indiana Jones film directed by Steven Spielberg hits theaters on June 12.
The First Space Shuttle Mission Launches
The first Space Shuttle mission launches when STS-1 flown by Columbia takes flight on April 12, returning two days later on April 14.
Gliding on Home.
— Nathan Barker (@NASA_Nerd) April 14, 2022
After 2 days in space and completing 36 orbits, Space Shuttle Columbia returned to Earth, completing STS-1 on this day in 1981.
?? NASA pic.twitter.com/PasfxFMm5h
The Band Metallica is Formed
James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich team up to create Metallica in Los Angeles in October 1981.
Sandra Day O'Connor Nominated to the Supreme Court
President Ronald Reagan announces his nomination of O'Connor — the first woman on the highest court in the land — on July 7.
Reagan announced his choice of Sandra Day O’Connor, first woman on Supreme Court, today 1981. At the time, she was so little known that her name did not make it into the New York Times headline: pic.twitter.com/NT1pspJHT3
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) July 7, 2022
The Mario Franchise is Launched by Nintendo
On July 9, Mario is debuted by Nintendo in the first release of Donkey Kong.
MTV Debuts
On August 1, 1981, MTV launches at 12:01 a.m. with Warner Cable's John Lack declaring "Ladies and gentlemen, rock 'n' roll."
Today in 1981, MTV made its debut.
— TodayInSports (@TodayInSportsCo) August 1, 2019
pic.twitter.com/GskBa69oHI
If you're feeling nostalgic (or confused by what a cassette tape is) then you get the idea of how long it's been since inflation was running near double-digit levels and seemingly out of control. Joe Biden was a sprightly 39-years-old then, so he should remember how much pain Americans felt until the Reagan administration took the reins of government and put the country back on the right track while reigniting patriotism and defeating the hostile Soviet Union in the Cold War.
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