8 things that are worth a lot less than they used to be

Everything seems to cost more, right? In California a 3 bedroom fixer upper is $1 million, after all. But is “everything” really worth more of your hard earned dollars than ever before?  Or, are there some things that are worth a lot less — less money, less time, less angst, or less mind-share — than ever before?  Maybe this is the time to stock up on these less valuable things.  Maybe there will be a turn around!  Or, maybe it’s time to let them go peacefully to the junk heap.

With that, I decided to start a list of things that are worth less now than they used to be. This is just a start.  Please add to this list.

1.  Getting on TV – with the proliferation of video outlets, it’s not too big a deal to be recorded and replayed. When Walter Cronkite said your name, the country heard. When your neighbor Darrell films you falling off your roof and landing crotch first on a post, 14 people see it. Unless there is a “LOLcat” involved, in which case it’s a lot more people. Today’s reality TV stars are just an interim step towards eventual video meaninglessness.  Reality TV stars would give their left fake breast for the nearly 400 million views of YouTube’s “Charlie bit my finger”
   
   
2. News anchors – with more outlets, news anchors like Brian Williams matter less. And with the end of “Fair and Balanced” rules, they also don’t even have to report facts.  News anchors today can report opinions, Anderson Cooper style.  Maybe news anchors are tomorrow’s reality TV stars.  It’s all about the editing, not the facts, which leads to  . . .
3. Facts – Rest In Peace, factual data. The internet has allowed anyone with an opinion to post a conventional wisdom as fact. For example, does Pandora have positive gross margins? Do a search and find both yes and no answers (the correct answer is yes).  And don’t even get me started on federal budget reductions that are really reductions of future increases that still amount to increases.  Say that three times really fast.
4. Candy – Sure, candy might cost more today, but now that I’m older, halloween candy seems much less alluring.  It’s worth less in my book.
5. The Dewey Decimal system – Do you remember that 229 is for Apocrypha & Pseudepigrapha?  I think I was tested on that once.   Well, that knowledge is worth a lot less now.  File the Dewey Decimal System under 929.281
   
6. Cool hair - Paul Saffell always had the best hair in my high school. Still does, in fact.  I always wanted hair like that – feathered with that perfect center part.  Well, cool hair isn’t worth nearly as much as it used to be.  Since I’m essentially bald, I may be merely hoping hair has become worth less.  This isn’t Paul, but what great hair (if you’re 14 in the 70s)
   
   
7. Digital storage – At the beginning of the internet bubble, a gigabyte of storage would cost you $50.  Now it costs you $0.10.  If only cars followed a similar price decline.  A new Ferrari would now cost $400.
8. That great Farrah Fawcett poster – A must have when I was 12.  It was guaranteed to make you the coolest boy on the block.   Now I only see her ditzy performance on David Letterman

So what do you have?  What things are worth a lot less now than they used to be?

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