Technology Change Not the Culprit in Wages Falling Behind US Productivity Gains

Re:Technology Change Not the Culprit in Wages Falling Behind... by novalis78 on Wednesday February 21, 2018 @08:09PM (#16434391)

What about the disconnecting of currency from the gold standard (1971/1973). Productivity gains that rippled through the economy based on a capped unit of accounting were now more likely to end up in the banking vaults of the institutions overseeing the money issuance and those close to the source - while the rest of the workforce sat on inflating paper.

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Re:Technology Change Not the Culprit in Wages Falling Behind... by throwaway1748 on Thursday February 22, 2018 @02:40AM (#16435915)

Not sure why this comment wasn't upvoted higher. Inflation has effectively been a slow-moving tax increase to the middle class, as tax brackets don't change with the decreasing value of the US dollar. A $100,000 salary in 2018 was equivalent to a $65,000 salary in 2000, meaning much more of one's 2018 income is pushed into the higher 25% bracket rather than the lower 15% bracket.

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Re:Technology Change Not the Culprit in Wages Falling Behind... by novalis78 on Thursday February 22, 2018 @08:22AM (#16437336)

Also coincides nicely with the demand on families to go from one partner working and able to sustain a family of 4-5 (lots more kids in the 50s/60s) to both parents having to work and smaller family size over the past 50 years.

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