https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-declining-power-of-the-middle
"When I was a boy, my father sold dresses and blouses to the wives of factory
workers. As the wages of those workers rose through the 1950s, my father earned
enough to expand his business to a second shop in another factory town not far
away. We were by no means rich, but he earned enough to put us in the middle
class.
For three decades after World War II, the average hourly compensation of
American workers rose in lockstep with the nation’s productivity gains. In
other words, as workers produced more value, they got more pay.
It was a virtuous cycle, from which our family and tens of millions of others
benefited: The economy grew, and the middle class expanded. Its purchasing
power rose, causing the economy to grow faster. This fueled new investments and
innovations that further enriched and enlarged the middle class.
But then, beginning in the late 1970s, the virtuous cycle came to a halt.
While productivity gains continued much as before and the economy continued to
grow, wages began to flatten. Starting in the early 1980s, the median
household’s income stopped growing altogether, when adjusted for inflation.
Today, the median household is earning just a bit more than it did in 1979, 45
years ago (adjusted for inflation).
If you’re a non-supervisory worker who relies on an hourly wage — still the
vast majority of workers — you’re earning no more than you earned in 1969. Job
security also declined.
So, despite an economy that’s far larger and more productive than it was 40 or
50 years ago, the typical American worker has gone nowhere."
Via Kevin O'Brien.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
