Re: The Value of the English Pound in the 1890's
Dave Postles (pot@leicester.ac.uk)
Tue, 24 Oct 1995 15:30:32 +0000
By my rule-of-thumb calculations, $500 a week comes out at about $25000 a
year. Given that in 1890 very little indeed of this would have gone to
the taxman, whereas in 1995 to take home $25000 you would probably have
to be earning in the region of $45000, this puts a whole new complexion
on the picture. Am I right in thinking that these calculations suggest a
relatively high, rather than poverty-stricken, level of real income (i.e.
equivalent to 1995 $45000) on weekly earnings of 1 pound? What
proportion of Britain's working population were earning 1 pound a week in
1890?
By way of reference I recall that my mother once told me that
her first job as a lecturer in 1960 at the equivalent of a community
college brought in 10 shillings a week.
Daniel Szechi
Auburn University
szechda@mail.auburn.edu
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