The other bit that is glossed over in the article: the reason why these artificial prices and wages are what they are. Why are McDonalds' margins so low? Employ

The other bit that is glossed over in the article: the reason why these artificial prices and wages are what they are. Why are McDonalds' margins so low? Employees are triple taxed (corporate, income, and then sales tax). Why is the price of real estate so high? Bernanke is printing $85 billion per month to drive up housing prices, and zoning and housing regulations drive up the price of building and make it impossible to build highrises (a key reason for high costs in the Bay Area). Why do these jobs even exist in high cost areas? Indirect government subsidies in the form of food stamps and other transfer payments. Why is McDonald's paying directly for health insurance rather than giving that in salary to the employee and having them buy on the free market? A massive web of healthcare regulations, including the tax advantage of employer-provided healthcare. People only look at the output, the wage or the price, and they blame that on the businessman. It's surprising to see that on Hacker News. Start a business, especially in the physical world like retail, and you will immediately see the one hundred different ways in which government hamstrings you, taxes away the money you would have preferred to pay as compensation, and then saddles you with the blame as the mustache-twirling top hat. Ask yourself this: is there any business which has ever taken anywhere as much of your paycheck as the US government? Where is all the money going, after all? Or as proof, simply go to the breakdown of each line item and ask what it would be without tax, regulation, or "monetary policy". For example: does 60% of a post-IRS/tax paycheck going to rent sound like the fault of McDonald's or the Bernanke? A runup in real estate (rental and purchase prices) is the desired and intentional effect of Fed policy. http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-19/bernanke-faith-in-housing-seen-in-mortgage-bonds-credit-markets.html http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-19/bernanke-faith-i... Bernanke said that “one important difference now is that people are more optimistic about housing” and surveys show they expect prices to climb further. “And that, you know, compensates to some extent for a slightly higher mortgage rate,” he said. Home prices in 20 metropolitan areas soared 10.9 percent in the 12 months through March, the biggest gain in seven years, as residential real estate is also bolstered by an influx of institutional buyers, limited supply and an improving job market, according to S&P/Case-Shiller index data released May 28.