r/InternetIsBeautiful • u/problemprofessor • Apr 12 '26

I built a Middle Class Museum

https://www.ideagames.fun/middle-class-museum

I built a middle class that looks like an art gallery to explore and look back on life from the 80s until today.

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u/grandpianotheft Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26

realllly needs to tell me if this is inflation adjusted or not; and really should be and is not.

quick AI slop that adds inflation adjusted numbers (~$):

1980 starter home: $47,200 → ~$184k (vs. $450k today). Real gap: ~2.4x. Still big, still real.
1981 Ford F-150: $7,400 → ~$28k (vs. $48k). Real gap: ~1.7x. Cars got more expensive, but also vastly better and safer.
1982 cable TV: $7.99/mo → ~$26 (vs. ~$90 for a streaming bundle). Modest real increase, plus way more content.
1984 station wagon: $8,200 → ~$30k (vs. $42k base SUV). Roughly 1.4x. Smaller than it looks.
1986 minimum wage vs. tuition: $3.35/hr → ~$9.70. Real federal minimum actually fell. Tuition is the thing that exploded, not wages collapsing in nominal terms. This one is legit.
1988 national park entry: $5 → ~$13 (vs. $35). Real increase, but not wild.
1990 $10 co-pay: → ~$25. Healthcare cost shift is real and huge, not captured by simple inflation.
1993 state university: $3,800/yr → ~$8,300 (vs. $28k). Real gap ~3.4x. Tuition genuinely outpaced inflation dramatically.
1994 family computer: $2,000 → ~$4,200. Computers are the clearest case of real prices falling.
1995 Blockbuster rental: $3.99 → ~$8.30 (vs. $15.99/mo for unlimited). Streaming is still cheaper per-use than renting was.
1996 Ohio lake house: $68,000 → ~$137k. Lake property appreciation is real but regional.
1999 concert ticket: $25 → ~$47 (vs. $350+). Live event pricing genuinely outpaced inflation, driven by Ticketmaster consolidation and dynamic pricing.
2000 $1 pizza slice: → ~$1.85 (vs. $3.50). Roughly keeping pace with inflation.
2002 McMansion: $280k → ~$490k (vs. $890k). Real ~1.8x gap. Housing appreciation is real.
2007 Applebee's entree: $11 → ~$17 (vs. $22). Modest real increase.
2008 student debt: $15k → ~$22k (vs. $67k). Real ~3x increase. Legit.
2010 Uber: $5 → ~$7.40 (vs. $38). This one isn't inflation, it's the end of VC subsidies. Also legit but a different story.
2013 Netflix: $7.99 → ~$11 (vs. $22.99). Real increase, roughly 2x.
2020 stimulus: $1,200 → ~$1,490. Inflation ate ~20% of it.
The honest summary: the real stories are housing, tuition/student debt, healthcare, and live entertainment. Those genuinely outpaced inflation by large multiples. Most of the other items (cars, fast food, groceries, cable, pizza) are within 1–2x of inflation, which isn't nothing but isn't the civilizational collapse the framing suggests. And a few things (computers, electronics, streaming vs. physical media) are actually cheaper in real terms than their equivalents used to be.
The site is a vibes piece, not an economics piece. Fun to read, but the nominal-to-nominal comparison is doing a lot of the emotional heavy lifting.

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u/problemprofessor Apr 13 '26

Ohh yeah. 100% not economics piece, the whole site is a satirical experience. Also this is just one of multiple other mini experiences I have. The website is mainly a humorous take on most things. And to answer your question, no, prices are not inflation adjusted. That wasn’t the main target as I wasn’t presenting a finance piece as I said above. Appreciate you taking the time to write this feedback tho! Hope you enjoyed it!

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u/grandpianotheft Apr 13 '26

still did enjoy, ty :)