4 ms·

You'll want to look at worker's share of corporate income for the full picture of wages and prices, and that has not recovered since 2008.

WalterBright 3y ago
The correct comparison is worker "total compensation", not wages. Total compensation includes the value of the benefits package, and is often an additional 40% over salary. The benefits package includes: 1. stock options 2. stock grants 3. health plan 4. 401k employer contributions 5. sick leave 6. vacation leave 7. maternity/paternity leave 8. employer paid social security taxes 9. other payroll taxes supposedly paid by the employer 10. retirement benefits
- quadrifoliate 3y ago
  Let's go through them one by one. > 1. stock options > 2. stock grants Very few regular people get these. Negligible if you consider the average worker. > 3. health plan I have not heard of an influx of health plans getting better over the last few years, have you? If anything, they seem to tack on more fees and deductibles every year. > 4. 401k employer contributions Negligible variations here, it's usually a single digit percentage. Haven't heard of a ton of employers suddenly upping these or anything. > 5. sick leave > 6. vacation leave > 7. maternity/paternity leave It's possible that employers have actually gotten a bit more liberal in these respects over the past few years. I am glad to see more companies acknowledging that paternity leave exists. > 8. employer paid social security taxes > 9. other payroll taxes supposedly paid by the employer Huh? How would this change my life for the better? Not sure this is a “benefit”, the employer wouldn't pay it if it wasn't legally required. > 10. retirement benefits You mean just the existence of a 401(k) plan? That's quite standard, few employers offer any sort of perks here; and they are usually large tech companies.
  - jntvjnvutnuvt 3y ago
    There is close to $1 trillion spent on Medicaid a year.
  - WalterBright 3y ago
    Instead of guessing: "Employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged $43.07 per hour worked in March 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries cost employers $29.70 while benefit costs were $13.36." https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm It's quite substantial across the board. Any attempt to compare wages with productivity is going to produce very misleading results.

WalterBright 3y ago

The correct comparison is worker "total compensation", not wages. Total compensation includes the value of the benefits package, and is often an additional 40% over salary. The benefits package includes: 1. stock options 2. stock grants 3. health plan 4. 401k employer contributions 5. sick leave 6. vacation leave 7. maternity/paternity leave 8. employer paid social security taxes 9. other payroll taxes supposedly paid by the employer 10. retirement benefits

quadrifoliate 3y ago
Let's go through them one by one. > 1. stock options > 2. stock grants Very few regular people get these. Negligible if you consider the average worker. > 3. health plan I have not heard of an influx of health plans getting better over the last few years, have you? If anything, they seem to tack on more fees and deductibles every year. > 4. 401k employer contributions Negligible variations here, it's usually a single digit percentage. Haven't heard of a ton of employers suddenly upping these or anything. > 5. sick leave > 6. vacation leave > 7. maternity/paternity leave It's possible that employers have actually gotten a bit more liberal in these respects over the past few years. I am glad to see more companies acknowledging that paternity leave exists. > 8. employer paid social security taxes > 9. other payroll taxes supposedly paid by the employer Huh? How would this change my life for the better? Not sure this is a “benefit”, the employer wouldn't pay it if it wasn't legally required. > 10. retirement benefits You mean just the existence of a 401(k) plan? That's quite standard, few employers offer any sort of perks here; and they are usually large tech companies.
- jntvjnvutnuvt 3y ago
  There is close to $1 trillion spent on Medicaid a year.
- WalterBright 3y ago
  Instead of guessing: "Employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged $43.07 per hour worked in March 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries cost employers $29.70 while benefit costs were $13.36." https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm It's quite substantial across the board. Any attempt to compare wages with productivity is going to produce very misleading results.