> non-wage benefits have been increasing

This is codeword to say that gains are going to people of high net worth. Most of the population still survives on wages (excepts for the ones out of work). So what you're saying doesn't disprove the fact that for most people income is going down, adjusted for inflation and for costs that don't appear on inflation statistics (housing, health care).

The non-wage benefit that's increasing the fastest is probably health care benefits, which is likely mostly captured by the middle class, not high net worth individuals.

This is a benefit that cannot be accessed as disposable income, so we are back to square one. It is just a transfer of wealth from most companies to the health care sector, masked as a benefit to workers.

> non-wage benefits have been increasing.

I strongly suspect this is predominantly out of control healthcare, and the non-wage benefits stat doesn't even capture the full 'tax' on shifted out-of-pocket healthcare costs via plan terms like higher copays.

Wages are not increasing and that’s all that matters. Just because there’s significant inflation in healthcare doesn’t mean I’m better off — it’s all price inflation that is eaten by my employer. Compared to five years ago, I am not better off even though my employer is paying 2x for my insurance.