Wages are not the only issue here. If you look at inflation, the price of food and energy has increased massively since 1999. I know economists like to exclud

Wages are not the only issue here. If you look at inflation, the price of food and energy has increased massively since 1999. I know economists like to exclude these figures in their computation of inflation, but they sure do put a dent in the regular workers wallet. I can remember paying 99 cents a gallon for fuel in the late 90's. Now its $3.49 a gallon. I can think back even farther to the 1980s when you could get a meal for $3 at a fast food chain. Now your shelling out $8 - $10 for the same meal.