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Center on Wealth & Poverty

The Mission of Discovery Institute’s Center on Wealth & Poverty is to apply the perennial truths of economics and ethics to the urgent challenges of today. We are building a sustained argument against the progressive ideological regime that increasingly dominates America’s institutions and rebuilding the foundation of the nation’s first principles: freedom, equality, charity, and the pursuit of happiness for all. Read more.

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iPhones Cost 22.9 Hours Less

_{Gale Pooley
April 20, 2026
2
Abundance}

Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone on January 9, 2007. The 4GB model sold for $499. At the time, limited-service restaurant workers earned an average of $9.16 per hour, making the time price of the iPhone 54.5 hours. Fast forward to today: the iPhone 173 is priced at $599, while today’s limited-service restaurant workers are earning $18.95 per hour. That brings the time price down to 31.6 hours—a reduction of 22.9 hours. Today you get 2.4 iPhone 17es for the same time price of one 2007 model. The real question is: How much more are you getting for 22.9 hours less work? Today’s iPhone offers vastly superior memory, speed, screen quality, and functionality—not to mention access to over two million apps in the App Store. To measure the difference in value, …

Jensen Huang’s Information Theory of Economics: George Gilder; April 10, 2026; 6; Information

Inflation Without Money Creation: Nathan Lewis; April 9, 2026; 7; Inflation

Trump’s Trifecta: Advancement for America and Setbacks for China: Scott S. Powell; March 25, 2026; 6; Politics

Why Gas Prices Will Never Go Back Down: Nathan Lewis; March 9, 2026; 5; Inflation

Want to Boost U.S. Affordability? Get Rid of Tariffs: Paul Teller; March 3, 2026; 5; Economic Policy

Center on Wealth & Poverty

News

iPhones Cost 22.9 Hours Less

Jensen Huang’s Information Theory of Economics

Inflation Without Money Creation

Trump’s Trifecta: Advancement for America and Setbacks for China

Why Gas Prices Will Never Go Back Down

Want to Boost U.S. Affordability? Get Rid of Tariffs

Video

The Tragic Tale of the Las Vegas “Mole People”

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