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The Myth of ‘Wage Stagnation’
- draw_down 7y agoFocusing on products and consumer choice ignores the huge increases in cost of two things that are actually important, housing and education. Doesn’t matter if TVs are cheap when you can’t afford your rent.
- ncmncm 7y agoA bigger house that costs more is not more useful to a person who just needs a place to live. Likewise, a car with power steering doesn't get you around faster than one without. Since you can't buy a car without, you are worse off, particularly if you can't afford the one with. Same for most things. Fancier clothes are nice, but just not necessary. This is especially pointed because income stagnation is not across the board; the average has been going up at a relentless pace since 1950. It is just that the extreme rich have taken all the increase, and left the rest of us to wallow in the swamp. This is not any kind of accident. It is a deleberate consequence of enacted policies. Wages are kept just high enough not to trigger demand for change.