The Cost of Living

When I was in the 1st grade, I bought my lunch at school. I liked getting my lunch this way. Each lunch cost only 25¢. I could eat lunch for only $1.25 for the entire week. When the cost was raised to 30¢/lunch, I started taking sandwiches. I made my own peanut butter with apple butter sandwiches. I usually bought a carton of milk for 10¢. Today the cost of one lunch at my middle school is $2.50. That is 10 times more than it was in 1960. I realize that wages have increased. The minimum wage in California is $8.00. When I got a job on campus at Cal Poly, Pomona in 1975 the minimum wage was $2.50. I thought I was making a lot of money then. Of course a gallon of gas only cost 25¢.

Each year the state gives our school district a cost of living increase which they are meant to pass onto their employees, and each year the district uses the money to fund other needs. I am grateful to have a job, but 25¢ just doesn’t go as far as it used to.