In the 1950s, a typical American home cost the modern equivalent of just $95,000. But putting a new color television inside it cost over $11,000. The mid-century economy was an inverse of today's: technology and communication were true luxuries, while the foundations of life—housing and education—were highly affordable. While the new RCA CT-100 color television retailed for $1,000 in 1954, even a standard black-and-white set cost around $250, or roughly $3,100 in modern money. Buying a TV was a major financial milestone that often required financing and months of savings, which is why the appliance was treated as the prized centerpiece of the living room. It is one reason TV content from this epoch was a higher caliber and depth. Simply put the ability to even see the programming was a financial barrier.  Communication was just as costly. A three-minute long-distance phone call from New York to Los Angeles in the early 1950s cost about $2.50. Factoring in inflation, that is over $30 for three minutes of voice chat. Families routinely used kitchen timers to ensure calls ended before the next expensive minute ticked over, and "long distance" was reserved for emergencies or major announcements. Yet, while consumer electronics drained savings, the actual cost of living was remarkably low in real terms. These were the old lines of prosperity. The median American home value in 1950 was just $7,354. With the median home price in the United States now exceeding $400,000, mid-century housing was objectively cheap. A sole breadwinner could often purchase a brand-new house in the expanding suburbs for less than twice the median household income, a ratio rarely seen in modern real estate. Higher education was similarly accessible. Public university tuition in the 1950s was almost negligible, with many state schools charging under $100 a year in fees. Even elite private institutions were bargains. In 1950, a year of tuition at Harvard University cost $600. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $7,500 today—roughly one-eighth of Harvard’s current tuition rate. A student could realistically pay for an Ivy League education by working a summer job.