If I pay you less than what you need by 1000 dollars every month, but then raise your pay by 200 dollars, your pay "is at the highest ever level". Conversely, i

If I pay you less than what you need by 1000 dollars every month, but then raise your pay by 200 dollars, your pay "is at the highest ever level". Conversely, if I overpay you by 1000 dollars every month but make you take a 2 cent pay cut every year, my spending on you "will be going down for decades". Ratios are great except when they obscure what problem they're supposed to address.