Like clockwork, the New York Times has produced another page-one story purporting to show that living standards for many Americans have fallen, this time because wages in recent years have failed to keep up with inflation. This has been happening, write Times reporters Steven Greenhouse and David Leonhardt, despite rising productivity and even taking into account the shift from cash to noncash benefits, such as medical insurance. Meanwhile, profits are up.Read the rest of this week's TGIF column here.
In other words, workers aren't getting their fair share of economic growth.
Cross-posted at Liberty & Power.
One problem with the Cox paper is that he ignores the elephant in the room. The paper speaks of the dorm room, as if housing is a god-given right that noone has to pay for. Well, guess what you pay more to get less of today? Ironic also is the fact that dorm room is used without any mention of the cost of college education (ironic or intentional?).
ReplyDeleteGiven that necessities like housing have increased so much, is it surprising that luxury items decrease in price?
In the end, I think the feeling that we (the middle class and below) are better off than our predecessors is true, but it is by no means a given, based on the flawed studies that I've seen.