> We just keep ratcheting up minimum wages On the contrary. In real terms, the minimum wage has been declining for a long while (at the federal level). If you

> We just keep ratcheting up minimum wages On the contrary. In real terms, the minimum wage has been declining for a long while (at the federal level). If you mean the median wage, I believe that's been declining over time as well in real terms. Not sure about, say, the low 10% order statistic of wages. > and ratcheting down the work week. I don't recall the work week having been officially reduced in the US in the recent past. In fact, not for many decades. If anything, work hours extend unofficially. Nabisco workers are now striking over workweeks extending into 6 and 7 days workdays with 12-hour or longer shifts and such. And there's the wide-spread phenomenon of having to take on a second part-time job to make ends meet.