Damus
Economista Austriaco profile picture
Economista Austriaco
@EconomistaAustriaco
1971:
-Gold was $43/oz
-Average hourly wage was $3.70
-Time needed to buy one oz of gold: 11.6 hours

2026:
-Gold: $5,000/oz
-Average hourly wage: $28
-Time needed to buy one oz of gold: 179 hours

What does this mean?

Your time is literally less valuable today than it was 50 years ago. Look at it this way:

In 1971: Work 12 hours ➡️ get 1 ounce of gold

In 2026: Work 12 hours ➡️ get 0.07 ounces of gold

Gold is still gold. One hour is still one hour.
4
Achilles · 29w
Bitcoin is time
keystroke · 29w
Your math is technically correct, but the comparison is misleading. In 1971 the dollar was still officially tied to gold at $35/oz for governments — market forces were constrained and the dollar’s role was different. Once Nixon closed the gold window, gold was allowed to float and its dollar pri...