Reduced transportation and shipping costs means lower cost of basically all material goods, including the material cost of building housing. And in that kind of

Reduced transportation and shipping costs means lower cost of basically all material goods, including the material cost of building housing. And in that kind of economy, I think overall wages will be higher in terms of actual purchasing power. Not only would almost everything be cheaper, real wages would probably increase due to overall increased demand. But I agree that health insurance, day care, and college would not get magically fixed by lower energy cost. I believe those costs have risen for other reasons. Also I am not totally convinced by grandparent's theory that energy cost is what caused the decoupling of wages from productivity. Maybe.