Ford Motor Company was offering “the high wage of $5 per day” in 1914.
— Sen. Eric Brakey
That doesn’t sound like much until you realize that we were on the gold standard — $20 = 1 oz of gold.
Today, relative to gold, that would be about $540 per day.
(5x the pay for a substitute teacher.) pic.twitter.com/dC3SyVoChS(@SenatorBrakey) March 22, 2024
Oldie but goodie – this explains what happened
From Forbes a few years ago.