I want to add my
personal experience to the data I usually provide to give you some insight
about what I learned working in the US economy for several decades.
I was born in St.
Louis in 1943 and learned what my grandparents, aunts and uncles had to say
about their experiences. My great grandmother remembered the Civil War and its
aftermath. My grandparents had learned about the end of the Indian Wars in the
1870s. They experienced the “Gay Nineties”, the World’s Fair of 1904 and the
Industrial Revolution with all of the inventions that resulted in electricity,
the telephone, the radio, the automobile and the airplane. They told me about
World War I, the Great Depression, the Roaring 20s and World War II.
My parents came from
large families. My mom was one of 12 children, 8 boys and 4 girls. Two of my
uncles died in World War II. My dad was one of 9 children. I spent a lot of
time with my aunts and uncles. Both of my grandparents were financially
successful and we were all privileged. All the children went to prep school and
college. The boys attended Christian Brothers College and St. Louis
University. The girls attended Nerinx
Hall and Webster College. All attended Catholic Parish grade schools.
My mom’s father was a
doctor. He was born in 1886. He was homeschooled on the family farm and went to
work in a factory at age 11 to earn money to pay a tutor. He entered Barnes
Medical College when he was 16 and graduated at 19 at the top of his class in
1905 and was appointed Professor of Internal Medicine. He finished his surgical
residency at age 21 and opened his medical practice. He was interested in
advancing medicine.
My grandfather gave me
a copy of the American Communist Party Goals published in 1920 when I was 10
years old, so I could begin to learn about “the enemy”.
Like grandpa, I
started early. I decided on a career in Personnel when I was 10 years old. I started a Rock band at age 14 and played 3
nights a week through high school. I was homeschooled and entered 3rd
grade at age 7. I attended Christian Brothers College and St. Louis University
and graduated in 1965. I had played 6 nights a week in a Blues Band through
college and took 20 hours per semester. I paid all of my expenses by playing
band jobs. Unlike grandpa, I wasn’t interested in medicine. I was interested in
advancing US manufacturing. I did share his interest in science.
The economy in 1965
was extremely good for new grads. I went to work in day jobs, but continued to
play bass and sing in a Jazz Trio on the weekends. We bought a house for
$16,000 in 1966 and had 6 kids. Our household income was well above average.
Our expenses were well below our income. Our mortgage payment from 1966 to 1975
was $150 per month.
Inflation was the
driver of consumerism in the 1960s and early 1970s. We bought what we needed
quickly before the prices went up. It
was a 5-7% inflation economy. I moved from job to job to keep up and accelerate
my primary career in Personnel. I viewed my jobs as internal consulting jobs. I
would join a company to accomplish specific tasks and this only took 3 to 4
years. Then I would move on to then next challenge.
I had entered
Personnel in 1967 and worked at Kearney National and Monsanto at the
headquarters. In 1971, I went to work at Washington University to establish the
Personnel function at the Medical Campus. In 1972 I moved to the main campus.
In 1975, I left
Washington University and joined Schwan Foods in Salina Kansas as Personnel
Manager and pushed for automation. My Jazz Trio days had ended. We bought a
larger home for $55,000 when the kids were 2 to 10 years old. We bought a large
boat and went camping on weekends. Our house payment was $300 per month.
We accomplished
Schwan’s automation in 1978. In 1979, I joined Rickel Manufacturing in Salina
to run off the UAW and did this in 1982.
I left Salina in 1983 to join Hayes Microcomputer Products in Atlanta GA
to support the PC expansion.
In 1983, we bought a
larger home in Dunwoody for $137.000 with an interest rate of 13%. Our house
payment was $1300 per month. We still live there. We paid it off in 2002. We
had refinanced it in 1988 with a 15 year loan with 7% interest. This home fully
upgraded and is now worth over $500,000.
We never felt
“entitled”. We were careful to spend most of our money on things that
appreciated in value. We were always self-reliant. We spent our time and money
on our home and our family. My wife graduated from Dental Hygiene School in
1986 and began to contribute to our household income. In 1986, I joined
Electromagnetic Sciences for the Reagan defense build-up.
Our 6 kids all went to
work at age 14 and did well in school. They had high GPAs, took advanced placement
classes and were in the National Honor Society. Our house was a hang-out for
their dozens of friends.
I was kidnapped by
several electronics manufacturing companies in 1993 to start a private
consulting practice and worked from home until 2017. Our household income had
been $150,000 a year for many years. We set up retirement accounts at Vanguard
and put our contributions in the 500 Index.
My wife and I retired
in 2017 and spend time with our 2 great grandkids, 13 grandkids, our 6 kids and
each other. I started the Tea Party and this Blog in 2011 and plan to continue
to write and publish. We have accomplished much, but we also have much more to
do to restore the US economy.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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