Peanuts by Charles Schulz for January 17, 2013

Nice take, Charlie, should be enough for a Pay Day.

Actually that was some tremendous haggling.

Does he even have an idea what $85 means, or is it all just words for him?

$85? You can buy a lot of kites for $85, CB.

Two teenaged boys approached my husband and me, asking if they could shovel our driveway. We asked for a price, and they said, “We’re just bored; we’ll do it for free.” We paid them anyway.

another day another cents

So much for making $85 for shoveling sidewalks even in 1966, Charlie Brown.

My brother and I charged by how long the sidewalk and driveway were. If they wanted a full job it would cost more. Funny now I don’t remember what we charged. Usually a buck or two I guess. This would be the late 60’s.

A very good price in those days, when we had “dimestores” instead of “dollar stores” and “Five Below”.

The minimum wage in 1966 was $1.25/hr or 62.5 cents per half hour. Assume he took half hour to shovel it, he was making 12.5 cents or 20% less than minimum wage.

The federal minimum wage today is $7.25/hr or $3.625 per half hour.

20% less would 72.5 cents less than minimum wage.

So that is like doing it for $3.625 – 0.725 = $2.90 today.

Assuming he does it in one half hour.

Yeah, that’s about what I used to get in those days. I remember looking at my old man’s pay envelope about 1960. He got $79 that week.

In the 50’s I shoveled for 25 cents.

My post vanished, so I’ll say it again. Back in the days when this strip first came out, a kid came and offered to mow our lawn—for 50 bucks. Using our mower, of course. At that time my dad made about 80 dollars a week, with which to feed a family of 5. Kid was forever after known as “The 50 Dollar Idiot.”

yepper – thats about right! .75 cents for a sidewalk and a buck for driveway – if you were lucky $1.50 for both.

That’s a ploy when desperate for a paying job. Quote an outrageously high price and then take whatever is offered.

Charlie Brown sure was being generous huh when he offered to shovel the sidewalk for $85.00?!!!!!