08/06/2026
What the inflation calculator cannot do is tell us what these goods would have cost had they been manufactured under the same conditions today: made in North America, with good quality materials and by skilled, often unionized, labourers.
That $60 loafer in 1988 would have felt like $142 if you bought them today. But the $100 loafers you can get at places like Winner’s or Payless today probably still generate at least a similar profit margin for the companies that make them… only now, workers are paid drastically less, they use more synthetic materials, and they certainly don’t bother making them to last, because the point is you’ll buy another pair next season anyways. The fact that wages have not kept pace with inflation compounds the issue.
What things cost depends on how you look at it 👀
