Anyone know what a Christmas bonus
for a guy like Clark in his position would be worth?
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My guess is about $12K - $15K U.S. give or take.
MovieChat Forums > National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) Discussion > Anyone know what a Christmas bonus
An inground pool today would cost on average around $35,000, with $55,000 being on the high end. In 1989 that would be around $14,105, or up to $22,166.
Given the way Clark thinks, I have a feeling he would be closer to the high end. My guess is that he was expecting that check to be in the near $20,000.
The amount was supposed to be for a down payment, though, wasn't it? A down payment isn't the full amount...
shareHow much do you reckon would be needed for a down payment? About 15% of the final cost?
If we assume a pool costing $18K, that requires a down payment of $2700.
If Sparky was getting 8% for his annual bonus, and his whole bonus was the down payment. That puts Griswold on just under $38Kpa. Does that sound right? Not far off it. I would imagine, Average family income was $34k in 1988 according to the census website.
It's kinda funny. If you think about it. The only danger that Sparky admits that he's in is the check he wrote for the down payment might bounce. In 1988, do you think an engineer like Sparky, living in a very nice neighbourhood, can't cover a £2700 check? Maybe. If he took it for granted that bonuses would be issued and exhausted all his other disposable cash at that moment. But I think Sparky's main problem was his inability to treat his family to a christmas surprise.
Pools are great and all. But, personally speaking, I couldn't imagine getting too excited just because my cousin, brother in law or whatever, got himself a pool. In the Chicago area of all places. (edit: I know there are pools there. Like the fancy homes in Ferris Bueller)
I live in Scotland which is not hugely dissimilar, climate wise. Although the proximity of the big lakes surely throw up some extremes I don't see here. I think I would see it as a waste of money. In fact, I have never in my life even heard of anyone owning a swimming pool in their yard/garden. Although there are outdoor pools here and there, for the masochists among us.
In fact, I have never in my life even heard of anyone owning a swimming pool in their yard/garden.
My aunt had one when I was a kid but that's the only person I've ever known with one. I think probably just about anywhere they are uncommon. But it does seem to me that back in the day, like the 80s and 90s, having one's own pool was more common and a bigger deal than it is now. I at least remember people talking about it then and how nice it would be. It doesn't feel like anyone even thinks about it anymore. share
My previous house had an above ground pool, being on the East Coast of the U.S. where summer is maybe 10-12 weeks, is not worth the money and maintenance if you ask me. My wife and kids used it, but I was in it maybe twice in the 5 years we lived there I , but it was me who vacuumed it, monitored the chemicals and adjusted, backwashed the pump, and did the repairs. I don't miss it one bit.
When we built a new house in the suburbs, a pool was never a consideration. But even in this area, both in-ground and above ground pools are not at all uncommon, and depending on who you ask, are either a benefit or problem when it comes to selling the house. Lots of pools around here have heaters to extend the season.
When we sold our previous home, our agent told us it might be a liability for a sale, so I told the agent that I would remove the pool and redo the turf if the new owner wanted it out - the new owner elected to keep it.
There are parts of the U.S. where most homes have pools. In Florida, they're very common but most are above ground because the ground water is high on the panhandle.
At the minimum, about 4-5% of his annual salary. But I would guess it's more like between 6% and 10%. Depending on performance.
shareI believe he said that the down payment was $7,500. I assume this was 50% of the total cost. So I figured he was expecting a bonus of around $15,000. Depending on the job a very good amount back then, a good amount now.
shareVerizon used to give us $300 Christmas bonuses.
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Don'T know how Clark fits into "middle class". "Little people, like you clark" - Mr. Sherman has to be upper upper class then...
Clark and his family are lower middle class, I'd wager. He has a white-collar job. Hard to consider that working class. They had a computer already in the first movie from 1983. Probably very few, if any, blue-collar working class families did.
shareSo what range (year income) are all the classes then?
around 1000.000 $ - upper Class
around 100.000 $ - Middle Class
around 50.000 $ - Working Class
around 20.000 $ - lower working class
In The Breakfast Club, Richard Vernon (the principal) says that he makes $31,000 a year. The median income in 1981 was $21,020. The number of people in the US who are considered middle class dropped from 61% to 50% between 1971 and 2021. The median income for the middle class in 2014 was $73,392.
https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1981/demo/p60-127.html
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/04/20/how-the-american-middle-class-has-changed-in-the-past-five-decades/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/500385/median-household-income-in-the-us-by-income-tier/
He said he put a 7500 dollar deposit and hoped the bonus would cover it. So that should mean a good bonus would have been that range, I guess.
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