The first graph shows productivity and real _disbursed_ income. Health insurance is a very large proportion of compensation now. There has been a large decoupl

The first graph shows productivity and real _disbursed_ income. Health insurance is a very large proportion of compensation now. There has been a large decoupling of compensation from productivity. What happened was unions were neutered (Taft-Hartley), and businesses took advantage by stomping them out whenever they could. Businesses also merged and acquired their way to become the enormous behemoths that they are today. There is a large amount of inequality in productivity between the Fortune 500 and other US firms. The Fortune 500 is responsible for 60-70% of US GDP despite employing only 16-20% of American workers. All the bargaining power in the world isn't going to help the 80% of us working for non-F500 firms. What we need is a combination of greater union power (wildcat strikes, closed shops, sectoral bargaining, heavy restrictions on employer interference in unionization efforts), and a greater antitrust effort to break up the monopoly firms. I guess a better question would be if we consider employment the only valid source of income. There are plenty of examples of tax-and-spend welfare states that simply redistribute income from rich earners/gainers to fund public services.