4 ms·
Boudreaux is presenting an absolute view of the economy when we've always looked at it from a relative perspective. Yes the dollar value of middle class wages h
by Lukeas14 14y ago
Boudreaux is presenting an absolute view of the economy when we've always looked at it from a relative perspective. Yes the dollar value of middle class wages have always gone up but it's still a big problem if they haven't risen in line with inflation or the overall growth of the economy. Economic gains are not sustainable if the middle class doesn't have the buying power to keep up with it. One reason our recovery has been so slow is that the gains from when our economy was exploding did not trickle down to the middle class which in turn did not create the demand needed to bring the economy back. The right likes to say that businesses aren't hiring because of regulations or economic/tax uncertainty. But the fact is if the demand was there, they'd be hiring left and right. The middle class just isn't capable of providing that demand right now.
He is also ignoring the effects of the average households going from 1 working adult to 2. Obviously, when household income doubles that family will have much more spending power to buy expensive i-devices. But the loss of a stay at home parent whose full time job is to take care of the home also has severe consequences not always seen in economic indicators.