Where Have America's Wages Gone?

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/where-have-americas-wages-gone



A new briefing paper from the Economic Policy Institute provides an overview of the income stagnation currently plaguing the vast majority of Americans. " A Decade of Flat Wages," by Lawrence Mishel and Heidi Shierholz, offers valuable background on one of the under-reported stories of our time: the slow disappearance of the middle class and the loss of social mobility.

The critical question is why? Why has the economy failed so many people, and what can be done about it?

Stuck in the Middle

The authors state the problem clearly and concisely: "The wage and benefit growth of the vast majority ... has stagnated, as the fruits of overall growth have accrued disproportionately to the richest households."

As Mishel and Shierholz note, "The wage-setting mechanism has been broken for a generation but has particularly faltered in the last 10 years ..." Corporate profits have reached historic levels and the top one percent of earners have captured virtually all income growth.

[kelliekat44]

1. To corporations and their shareholders and CEOs and upper management. nt

[spin]

2. That is why I predict a resurgence of unions. ...

The rich can only treat their workers as slaves so long before they rebel and organize to fight for better pay and work conditions.

If I am right we will see the middle class in our nation grow once again and we ALL will benefit.

[secondvariety]

5. I wish I shared your optimisim.

The anti-Union forces have been pretty successful in brain washing the public.

[spin]

6. I should have said that it will take a long while before unions regain their strength. ...

Hopefully it can be accomplished peacefully.

[awoke_in_2003]

19. It is sad that one day...

people will have to get their skulls cracked open fighting for the stuff our grandparents fought to get us. It reminds me of the great protest sign- "I can't believe we are still protesting this shit"

[Jasana]

3. Another good story that will probably get lost because of

SYRIA! As I said in another thread, everyone running around, hair on fire, wondering what to do about Syria when we can't even fix our own problems here at home.

[LuvNewcastle]

8. But our problems are already 'fixed.'

It's taken the rich decades to flatten wages and destroy unions and bring down our standard of living. They've got us almost exactly where they want us. If we start 'un-fixing' things, it will be time for another war or some kind of foreign distraction to get our minds off the state our country is in.

[RC]

12. They are trying to do the war thing anyway.

Only this time without any boots on the ground, so we can't know anything, except what they want us to know.

[liberal N proud]

4. The 1% has it

But they will not be happy even when they have it all.

[Dustlawyer]

7. Even a lot of the Union guys vote Republican and watch Fox! I have heard many times

from local and national union leaders who say they have been victimized by Fox News and think Democrats will take their guns. Guys with HS diplomas making $100,000 a year as operators in refineries through their union who will not lift a finger for a Democrat!
Until we can truly counter the brain washing they are getting, either through actions by the employers (business's actions), or labor getting better at reaching their membership, or we get better Democratic candidates, it will continue.

HAPPY LABOR DAY
SUPPORT UNIONS

[LuvNewcastle]

11. A lot of government workers are unionized, and it's clear

when you talk to them that they hold those of us who need services from the government in utter contempt. All you have to do is look at the books on the shelves in their offices. They'll have Limbaugh's crap next to a John Stossell book, or even Ann Coulter. If you're lucky, you might get a liberal do-gooder handling your case, but there are way too few of those.

I get food stamps, and the woman who handles my case is a plain old bigot. Because I'm white, she tells me stories about her other clients, always stories about black people, and talks about how they won't work or how they have too many kids. I just sit there while she does this because I don't want my $16 in food stamps to get cancelled for some idiotic reason. These fuckers are voting themselves out of jobs. It would be hilarious if it only affected them, but it hurts the needy just as much.

[Dustlawyer]

15. People ignore facts that don't support their world view. I am sure she processes more whites than

blacks since there are more whites on FS and Welfare. Poor people are poor for different reasons, not very smart, poor education, bad home life, addictions, no wealthy relatives (I.e. being related to The Kennedys or Romneys)... There is no valid reason for hating them for it. Now days many are poor b/c the rich and powerful made it so!

[mountain grammy]

16. Shame on that woman, perpetuating the lies that tear us apart

and dragging you into it, and anyone else who needs assistance and has to sit there and listen to her. It's an American disgrace that people in a position of authority are allowed to abuse the people they are there to help.
I remember the Breitbart story about Shirley Sherrod who spoke about personal feelings in her work as a USDA official. A shock to the world that a black woman might harbor some animosity towards white people. But her speech was about putting those feelings aside and helping each PERSON; demonstrating what a good and decent human being she is.

Breitbart is, thankfully, dead.

[LuvNewcastle]

18. Ms. Sherrod was just telling her story about where she came from

and how she grew as a person while helping others. Leave it to Breibart to distort her message. Our media became a little bit better when he died; I certainly agree.

[JDPriestly]

9. K&R.

Income disparity, in other words, the wage decline for the lower 70% of the population in the US is the central problem we face.

All of our problems, our lack of health care for all, our struggling economy, our lack of industrial capacity, our poor education, our inability to respond to the human causes of climate change and even the personal desperation of so many Americans that motivates our high crime and especially murder rates arise from the malaise of working people whose incomes don't buy nearly the lifestyle they once did. And as the article points out -- the frustration at watching the rich get richer while we all get poorer.

You can say that we in the middle class and we who are poor are "jealous" of the wealth of the top percentiles. But actually, it's the top percentiles who are jealous of every penny that passes before their eyes. They are the ones who will cheat and steal and grovel and crush their fellow men just to get a little more money THAT THEY DO NOT NEED and would "need" even less if they grabbed just a little less.

The banks are making bigger profits than ever. But they are paying small savers less interest than ever. Go figure.

[xchrom]

10. +1

[mountain grammy]

13. Reagan's dream has become a nightmare for the majority of Americans.

The sad truth is so many middle class Americans are still buying into the bullshit. Both my sons work in union shops and so many of their fellow workers are Limbaugh loving, Fox watching, evangelical racist bigots with almost no appreciation of the union (the only reason these idiots are making a decent wage and benefits.) My older son works in a refinery where most operators with nothing more than a high school diploma are earning $75,000 to $100,000 a year and whining about the hoards who are going to ruin their precious lifestyle because of food assistance.

[reformist2]

14. The stocks, bonds and real estate of the 1% are going to collapse if nothing is done about wages.

The entire financial structure is based on a faulty assumption - that you can maintain the buying power of the middle class by substituting wages with borrowing. It works for a while, but then...

[mountain grammy]

17. Someday, maybe, but right now the 1% are immune. They're running the world.