Prices have inflated so much over the past 10 years that a $20 bill buys as much as $5 did back then.
subway footlongs are indeed $20 on the high end in major metro areas.
The $20 USD bill is the new 5$ bill
Submitted 2 weeks ago by Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com to showerthoughts@lemmy.world
Comments
disregardable@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
over_clox@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Also, make sure to bring your tape measure, shrinkflation is all too real…
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Subway argued in court that “Footlong” is a trademarked brand, and does not mean it’s 12 inches. Then they argued that the average consumer would KNOW this, and not be confused by these terms.
Footlong is a subway branded term for their bigger sub. Foot long is a generic term that means one foot long.
Yes, that’s real. I’m not joking. They legitimately did this. Just like Fox News argued in court that their station is NOT a news network. It is an entertainment network, presenting purely opinion based stories. As such, they have ZERO obligation for their stories to contain even a shred of truth or fact to their stories. And “Fox News” is a branded term, not relating to, or presenting factual news reports.
On a related note, would anyone like to buy “Bigger Penis Pills”? I mean, it’s just condensed sugar in tablet form. But I’ve branded it as “Bigger Penis Pills”, and selling it for $100 per pill.
Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
What the fuck.
over_clox@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Gasoline price is about the same and the price of noodles hasn’t gone up much. But the price of rent and weed has skyrocketed, so…
🤷
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
New plan. Cars that run on noodles!
Wait, gas prices didn’t go up. That makes no sense…
Ok. Houses made out of noodles, and we’ll all smoke gasoline!
over_clox@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I think we already all smoke gasoline anyways, it’s called exhaust… ☹️
ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
The cost of producing gas definitely went up. It’s just subsidized more from everyone’s taxes.
bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Ramen noodle packs make good insulation for walls
db2@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
and the price of noodles hasn’t gone up much
From 8.3 cents per package to 33.3 per seems like a jump that qualifies as “much”. And if you get it on scamazon it’s 62.9 cents per.
This is based off the cost of a 24 pack of Maruchan chicken ramen packets.
over_clox@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I won’t lie, I haven’t really kept up too much with the price of noodles over the past decades, but I loosely recall them going for somewhere around 18 cents a pack back around 10 years ago.
Yeah, even those numbers don’t sound wallet happy, but hey, at least we don’t have to worry about pennies anymore, so of course everything rounds up right?
Fuck. ☹️
brooke592@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I did some research and it looks like the price of maruchan scales exactly with inflation.
burrito@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Depends on where you live. I can get an ounce of weed, 28g for you people with better measurement systems, for $22-50 and I have a large variety of strains to choose from.
over_clox@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Thanks homie, but I had to spend my lunch money on tires and rent. At least beer and cigars are still cheaper than a bottle of water here, so… 🤷
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
If your ounce weighs 28g, you got shorted 2g…
I guess for that price it doesn’t really matter, but it’s about the principle!
Muffi@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
Weed still costs the same as 20 years ago here in Copenhagen, but the food prices have doubled.
brooke592@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Legal weed is one of the biggest scams on the planet, along with rent.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Ah yes, people no longer going to jail over a flower to be exploited for slave labor and lose all future job prospects is such a scam 🤷♀️
brooke592@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Becoming dependent on fiat currency was one of the dumbest things the boomer generation did to us.
surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Exactly.
I carry two pounds of gold nuggets in my ass. For emergencies.
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
fiat currency
You got that from a sovereign citizen weirdo, didn’t ya?
Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Common talking point among the crypto community.
Abundance114@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I don’t think it was as direct of a choice as it was a slow sinking into inevitability.
And did any boomer really have a choice for Nixon to NOT close the gold window?
bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Totally.
Now I see something for $50 and im like oh not bad.
Then im like WAIT THAT WAS 20 DOLLARS 7 YEARS AGO WTF!
lastlybutfirstly@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I use 1930 as the base year. So $20 USD bill is actually the new $1 bill.
jeffw@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Ye olde halfpence is now a nickel!
- definitely someone a few hundred years ago
HakFoo@lemmy.sdf.org 2 weeks ago
During thr gold-standard era, 1GBP was around 5USD, but a halfpenny was 1/480 of a pound, so a little more than a cent. The large-format cents issued up to 1857 were similar in size to the halfpennies of the late 1700s.
reddig33@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Doubtful, considering money back then was pinned to something like gold or silver.
foggy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Are you under the impression that this prevented inflation somehow?
Spoiler: it didn’t.
667@lemmy.radio 2 weeks ago
The US went off the gold standard in 1971 and OP is talking about 10 years ago, so 2016.
crimsonpoodle@pawb.social 2 weeks ago
Not totally, but it depends, inflation doesn’t happen equally between goods, but in a general sense thats a bit high.
Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Its still a buck fifty for a hotdog and soda at Costco.
LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Heart disease is cheap to get but expensive to fix.
FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
I want five dollar coins
MintyFresh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This is something that actually bugs me. People back in the day could actually make useful purchases with coins. I want a 50c, 1d, 2d, 5d, and 10d coins. Loose the penny and maybe even nickels
Nollij@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
They introduced the Sacagawea dollar coins a while back with the expectations that people would use them for daily transactions. After an initial brief interest, they quickly fell off. Turns out that people in the US don’t really care to use coins, and used the paper $1 bills at every opportunity.
FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
We ditched the penny in Canada years ago. Nickels and dimes are near useless
Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I want 20 dollar coins too. If you take inflation from early 1800s to now the dollar coin would be worth more.
Someone could probably successfully pitch this to Trump with. “We waste so much money on printing bills, coins last forever” “paper money is so dirty” “We could shut down the Denver mint once we have enough coins made” “They will all be plated in gold type material” “we will put your face on the 20 coin, everybody will see your face forever everyday”
… On second thought maybe don’t pitch it to him
FunnyUsername@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I still dream about 5 for 5.95 Arby’s roast beefs
thermal_shock@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
When I was in SC, if the gamecocks won, they had a deal 5 roast beef and cheddars for $5. Bet your ass I took advantage of that.
Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
That used to be their normal everyday deal in the 90s. 5 for 5. Then it was 4 for 5, then 3 for 5. Now I don’t even know if you can get one sandwich for that.
CluckN@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
If it’s Arby’s I’m assuming it’s a nightmare?
thermal_shock@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Nah, it’s processed, but not bad. I like it.
antlion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
For our current level of inflation we should have dimes (the new penny), 50 cent pieces (instead of quarter), and coins for $1, $2, and $5. Then in bills we should have $10, $20, $50, $100, $500, and $1000.
Agent641@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
For cocaine, yes
KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Someone find a nerd to do the math.
Based on the value of $1 USD on today, Jan 23 2026, on what date was $5 worth what $20 is today?
(Authors note: I’m gonna fuckin off myself if the answer is post Y2k)
specimen@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
On this website, it says that it was on 1980.
booly@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
$5 in April 1980 dollars is the inflation adjusted equivalent of $20 in December 2025:
Gonzako@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
These feel kinda strange. How do they get calculated? Like while a dollar is less over time yes how well does it take into account that everything has just gotten better at extranting wealth?
butwhyishischinabook@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yeah except that’s not even close to true. $5 in December 2015 is worth $6.85 in December 2025 (the most recent data available).
data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=5&year1=201…
Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 2 weeks ago
I don’t believe you.
Many inflation metrics are based on a “basket of goods”. Let’s say a basket of goods in 1990 is a month’s rent, a new TV, a month’s groceries, three outfits, some toys for the kids, a digital camera, and a porno magazine.
In 2026, people can barely afford rent and groceries. People aren’t buying a basket of goods. The comparison is flawed.
Scubus@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Yeah, even ignoring that, theres no way that claim is valid. The price of food here has over doubled since 2019. I used to work at a store during that time and got a burrito every single day, after tax it came to $1.03. Now, at the same store, same burrito, it cost $2.46 after tax. My $3 box of snack cakes comes to $5 now, cigarettes have almost trippled, and my rent has almost doubled since i moved here in 2020. Almost everything here is at least twice as expensive as it was in 2019, and my wage has only gone from about $9/h to about $12/h. I even have pictures of price tags from then, once i find them ill upload then/now pictures of the price tags.
Vince@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Looks like you have to go back to 1979 for it to be true
entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org 2 weeks ago
So they were off by a factor of 2.35 (47 years is 2.35x 20 years)
surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That’s just as wrong as OP. You need to use the Subway metric.
Five Dollar Footlongs ended a decade ago. Now they’re 11-17$.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Now they advertise $5 shorties and the millennial in me has to do a doubletake of incredulity
booly@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
The Five Dollar Footlong was a promo created in 2003 when the normal price of a footlong was $6, by a single franchisee. By the time the promo went national, supported by the chain itself (and a national ad campaign), in 2008, that became a big enough deal to really move sales. And they watered it down at some point (by late 2010 when I was working next to a Subway and no other lunch options, I remember it only being a specific sandwich that rotated monthly, with all other footlongs regularly priced). And it was eventually discontinued in 2012.
It’s hard to pin this particular promo and call it totally representative of all pricing in the mid 2010s.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Relative to what? Gold? British Pounds? Crude oil?
All measures of value are relative; they only mean anything based on their value relative to other things.
Commodity prices might drop significantly when an economy crashes and there’s low demand (look at the price of soybeans in 2025), but consumer prices either stay the same or continue to rise (didn’t see your grocery bill shrink when commodity prices dropped, did you?)
Economists might measure the value of the USD against high-level metrics such as commodities and precious metals, but what matters to the average person is the value of the USD relative to consumer prices.
Maybe technically the USD only increased in value by $1.85 in ten years, but if the cost of bread or toilet paper or a meal at a restaurant doubled or quadrupled in that time, then really the value of the dollar dropped significantly as far as the consumer is concerned.
butwhyishischinabook@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The cost of bread, toilet paper, and restaurant meals for the average American may have increased significantly more than $5 -> $6.85, but I promise it hasn’t literally quadrupled. Things are inacceptably bad but this isn’t Turkey yet. Do you have any indication that for the average American the average purchased good has quadrupled in ten years? The responses here are almost as unhinged as the takes over in MAGA world. This is insane.