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In reply to the discussion: In 1981, I was a full time stock clerk at an Ohio Big Bear grocery store making 12.60 an hour [View all]Sympthsical
(9,238 posts)32. $12.60 in 1981 would be about $42 today
That sounds like a lot.
I pulled up a list of wages in California in 1980 out of curiosity, and your average office worker was pulling in around $7/hr back then (weekly wages of $250-$300 for full time). The higher hourly earnings I saw that were $10-$11/hour was for certain manufacturing jobs and truck drivers.
Although I agree with your larger point. Workers have lost a massive amount of economic power over time. Paragraphs like this one from the Economic Policy Institute are what bring it home.
The figure shows that in the three decades following World War II, hourly compensation of the vast majority of workers rose 91 percent, roughly in line with productivity growth of 97 percent. But for most of the past generation (except for a brief period in the late 1990s), pay for the vast majority lagged further and further behind overall productivity. From 1973 to 2013, hourly compensation of a typical (production/nonsupervisory) worker rose just 9 percent while productivity increased 74 percent. This breakdown of pay growth has been especially evident in the last decade, affecting both college- and non-college-educated workers as well as blue- and white-collar workers. This means that workers have been producing far more than they receive in their paychecks and benefit packages from their employers.
Now consider housing is up around 25% when adjusted for inflation (300+% in flat dollar terms).
Americans across the board are losing more and more ground over time.
"Why do Americans think the economy is bad?" That's why. They see what their parents and grandparents were able to manage and noticing that they cannot do the same for themselves. Mix in college educations many were told would guarantee them good jobs and entrance into the middle class, so they willingly went into massive debt to obtain them.
And then the promise didn't materialize.
Anyone would be pissed about this.
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In 1981, I was a full time stock clerk at an Ohio Big Bear grocery store making 12.60 an hour [View all]
maxrandb
Sep 2023
OP
This is the pattern of private equity - they have already destroyed 2 hospitals for low-income
Stargazer99
Sep 2023
#49
I retired 15 years ago and was looking for something to kill time. That was before I joined the
3Hotdogs
Sep 2023
#3
My teachers' union was powerful. When I retired, we were the second highest paid district in the
3Hotdogs
Oct 2023
#138
That store was on High around 6th. Unfortunately the ride was not mine.
Floyd R. Turbo
Sep 2023
#118
Yes I know. The democratic house. The senate went republican for part of the 8 years.
jimfields33
Sep 2023
#31
Current wealth/income disparity is unsustainable. Let's resolve it peaceably by taxing the ultrarich
Bernardo de La Paz
Sep 2023
#19
Every solid college degree ought to come with a good trade job as a backup superpower.
hunter
Sep 2023
#116
Just this morning, I read an article about concerns over the falling birth rate
Attilatheblond
Sep 2023
#107
Could not compete my a**. Private Equity bought Big Bear and loaded them with debt and then sold the
Stargazer99
Sep 2023
#59
Really good post, Max. You are quite intelligent enough to have stated the basic problem.
PatrickforB
Sep 2023
#40
Republicans have forced through policies that have hollowed out the American middle class. 50 years
Martin68
Sep 2023
#54
Granted, they were the days of high inflation, and everything was costing more and more, but...
BobTheSubgenius
Sep 2023
#72
'this country has been valuing wealth over labor for the better part of 4 decades now.'
elleng
Sep 2023
#89
Excellent post. I received union scale (teamsters) wages in 1975 and was thrilled (9.93 an hour).
Evolve Dammit
Sep 2023
#92
There's no reason for top executives to make 300 or 400 times what they pay their workers
dlk
Sep 2023
#129
In the summer of '66 I worked as an apprentice electrician earning $2.75/hr. I was able to
flashman13
Sep 2023
#110
I worked at a union grocery store through high school & college as a part time cashier
dflprincess
Sep 2023
#127