# Who Is Right? Mike vs Archie ("All In The Family") **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 27, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980 "2010-03-27T01:31:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/21 "2010-03-27T22:04:59Z")
I never bought the idea Mike would leave Gloria. That storyline was for the sole purpose of giving Sally Struthers her own spin-off. As we saw in the Christmas episode it was Gloria that went behind Mike’s back with another man, not the other way around (though whether Gloria has sex with him or merely was entertaining the notion was never clearly established) I was looking at old ads from the Chicago Tribune from that era and you find ads saying “room for rent,” and the range is in the $10 - $20 a week. I’m not sure how Queens compares to Chicago. I found when I was thinking of moving to NYC, the flats in Queens and Brooklyn were the same as those in Chicago (of course Manhattan was outrageous but Queens had reasonable priced apartments). So with board I guess I’ll have to say Mike was too low, as his estimate only takes in account the room. Unless Mike assumed the room was there anyway, and the money was for his board only? Just out of curiosity after Mike graduated from school, with a masters in sociology he became a professor. I wonder how much a sociology professor in NYC in the mid 70s made? I was thinking in terms of having to pay Archie back ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/22 "2010-03-28T01:26:27Z")
Pay Archie back! HA! Remember when he got that little windfall and he gave it to the eleventh hour McGovern campaign, which everybody knew was doomed to lose at that point, rather than to Archie for some damned rent? When I used to watch it in high school I thought Archie was a total asshole and Mike was a saint. As an adult, I think Mike’s a real douchebag and Archie should kick his sorry ass out. (Not that it’s okay to be a racist. But it’s worse to be Mike.) ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/23 "2010-03-28T01:34:03Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Pay Archie back! HA! Remember when he got that little windfall and he gave it to the eleventh hour McGovern campaign, which everybody knew was doomed to lose at that point, rather than to Archie for some damned rent? You’re not wrong. But Mike did go to work part time at a gas station and paid Archie the money. I guess the real question is should relatives pay rent. I mean if the room is going unused anyway? It has to be heated. And back then the extra lights and water was not a big issue. What’s also not clear is Gloria who in many episodes refers to working three days a week. So even though she isn’t in school, she isn’t working full time. Even after she was pregnant and moved out, she still said, “Working three days a week.” Which brings up the question, Gloria got her first job AFTER the series started. She was already graduated high school, so was she just sitting around doing nothing before she married Mike? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/24 "2010-03-28T01:48:31Z")
But Mike’s not just taking up a room that was already there, he’s actively annoying everybody and not helping out. And occasionally sitting in Archie’s chair. He’s an active nuisance. I mean, I’ve got a tenant living in my garage right now who can’t really afford to pay me rent, and she’s working for my boyfriend, so I’m okay with it. She doesn’t affect my life in any way, really, except for utilities, and that hasn’t been a big deal. (Although maybe the hot water - I think the gas bill’s rise has come from that rather than heating and I’d like to see a little cash for it.) Anyway, since she’s not in my actual house I don’t mind. If she were in my actual house, using my bathroom (remember, there was just one in an Archie-style house), putting her shit in my fridge… yeah, that would be a hardship and I’d want some money. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/25 "2010-03-28T02:26:03Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I guess the real question is should relatives pay rent. I mean if the room is going unused anyway? It has to be heated. And back then the extra lights and water was not a big issue. Well, why should relatives NOT pay rent? You’re a grownup, time to pay your way, one way or another. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/26 "2010-03-28T05:18:05Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > nope. It was [$1.60 / hour.](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774473.html) No, I stated that in ILLINOIS it was $3.25. States set their own rates at or above the Federal minimum wage. That’s why it’s different in every state. My state in 2009 was $1.25 above the 2009 federal rate. I don’t know what the rate was in NY. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/27 "2010-03-28T06:22:04Z")
[The 1970 census data](http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/42189394n27-52ch2.pdf) around page 100. It seems to mix together all the boroughs for just a picture of New York City area, but median rent looks to be about $100/month (the copy is fuzzy or my eyes are bad). (Median in Albany & Buffalo were both $77/month). It doesn’t specify rent of what; it looks like that stat is for every possible type of home. And, NY was letting go of rent control. They both underestimated it, Archie was closer. ---
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/28 "2010-03-29T12:15:09Z")
I think Mike’s mustache should’ve been charged it’s own rent. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/29 "2010-03-29T19:27:31Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > No, I stated that in ILLINOIS it was $3.25. States set their own rates at or above the Federal minimum wage. That’s why it’s different in every state. My state in 2009 was $1.25 above the 2009 federal rate. I don’t know what the rate was in NY. Seriously? It was $3.35/hour in Maryland when I started working in 1989. $3.25 in the early 1970s seems astronomically high to me. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/30 "2010-03-30T03:53:25Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I thought this thread would be about shoes and socks. Me, too! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/31 "2010-03-30T05:31:58Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I thought this thread would be about shoes and socks. LMAO, I didn’t think of that but it does remind me of an equally moronic argument. IIRC, Archie and Mike fought over the correct way to eat dinner. Mike ate all the meat until it was gone, and then all the veggies until they were gone, and then all the potatoes, etc. Archie said it was stupid, that you had to eat it all together. because that made it a “balanced diet.” ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/32 "2010-03-30T05:42:15Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Pay Archie back! HA! Remember when he got that little windfall and he gave it to the eleventh hour McGovern campaign, which everybody knew was doomed to lose at that point, rather than to Archie for some damned rent? > > When I used to watch it in high school I thought Archie was a total asshole and Mike was a saint. As an adult, I think Mike’s a real douchebag and Archie should kick his sorry ass out. (Not that it’s okay to be a racist. But it’s worse to be Mike.) Yeah, I’ve started thinking this way, too, when I see the old shows and movies I used to love. I was totally infatuated with _Hair_ and thought that the (young hippie) characters were the epitome of coolness. I watch it now, and I think “What a bunch of entitled BRATS!”, and then I get depressed because I remember how I loved it, and I feel old. I think that Mike should have paid some rent, even a token amount. He was a complete mooch, and the only reason why Archie allowed him to stay was because he (Archie) didn’t want to totally alienate his daughter. And he did love his daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/33 "2010-03-30T05:54:36Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Pay Archie back! HA! Remember when he got that little windfall and he gave it to the eleventh hour McGovern campaign, which everybody knew was doomed to lose at that point, rather than to Archie for some damned rent? Or he could have bought a color TV. There was an episode earlier in the season in which Archie wanted a color TV, which he didn’t get. Mike was always saying how Archie hated him, but he might have hated him a little less if Mike had done that. Furthermore, does anyone remember that Mike didn’t give all his inheritance to McGovern? He also wanted to get something for Gloria. **A fur coat.** Even hardcore liberals in those days were okay with fur. Just goes to show. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/34 "2010-03-30T15:45:58Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/35 "2010-03-30T23:26:31Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > No, I stated that in ILLINOIS it was $3.25. States set their own rates at or above the Federal minimum wage. That’s why it’s different in every state. My state in 2009 was $1.25 above the 2009 federal rate. I don’t know what the rate was in NY. The Federal minimum was $1.60 in 1971. The New York State minimum wage was $1.85; see [http://www.fiscalpolicy.org/MinimumWageGraphs.pdf](http://www.fiscalpolicy.org/MinimumWageGraphs.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980/36 "2010-03-31T00:28:22Z")
Mike owed the same amount as Gloria, whatever that amount was. She was a grown-ass woman and should have been out on her own. She was, in fact, a _married_ grown-ass woman and should doubly have been out her own. If Mike was a moocher for living in Archie’s house, eating his food, and using his bathroom free of charge, so was she. It’s a real dick move to let your grown, married kid live with you rent-free and then keep mental tabulations on how much their spouse owes you for living with you. Therefore I calculate that the actual debt is $5200. Both of them pay room and board at the reduced family rate. **pricciar** , that’s an astoundingly common thing, to marry someone who is _just like_ your opposite-sex parent, but the traits express themselves in different ways. I see it in the marriages of all my friends whose parents I know reasonably well, and I sometimes look at my husband and think, “well, _no wonder_ I’m turning into my mother!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-right-mike-vs-archie-all-in-the-family/533980.md?page=1)