Now It’s Explicit: Fighting Inflation Is a War to Ensure That Real Wages for the Vast Majority Never Grow

[ksen]

http://www.epi.org/blog/explicit-fighting-inflation-war-ensure-real/

So, [Dallas Fed President Richard] Fisher’s recommendations are pretty extraordinary—we have somebody who votes on monetary policy arguing that we should pull back on support for lowering unemployment even before we’ve reached levels that will keep real wages for the majority of the wage distribution from outright falling. He actually identifies improved wages as the problem we must confront.

Wages are getting out of hand.

Ok.

 

[jonatha]

Let's start with the wages of the Dallas Fed President....

 

[untermensche]

This has been the economic policy of the right for a long time.

Increasing wages is bad for the economy.

Job insecurity is good for the economy.

The economy means the production of profits by a handful of huge corporations.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

This has been the economic policy of the right for a long time.

Increasing wages is bad for the economy.

Job insecurity is good for the economy.

The economy means the production of profits by a handful of huge corporations.

Welcome to the plantation

House slaves sleep in the attic in the Big House, field slaves stay in the quarter.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

http://www.epi.org/blog/explicit-fighting-inflation-war-ensure-real/

So, [Dallas Fed President Richard] Fisher’s recommendations are pretty extraordinary—we have somebody who votes on monetary policy arguing that we should pull back on support for lowering unemployment even before we’ve reached levels that will keep real wages for the majority of the wage distribution from outright falling. He actually identifies improved wages as the problem we must confront.

Wages are getting out of hand.

Ok.

When wages "improve" due to inflation it doesn't actually benefit the workers. You want wages to improve due to productivity gains.

 

[jonatha]

You want wages to improve due to productivity gains.

Wages generally stopped rising with productivity gains in the early 1980s, IIRC.

That, IMHO, is the biggest issue facing society at the moment.

 

[ksen]

You want wages to improve due to productivity gains.

Wages generally stopped rising with productivity gains in the early 1980s, IIRC.

That, IMHO, is the biggest issue facing society at the moment.

Yes it is.

If median income had kept up with productivity gains it would currently be over $77,000/yr.

Here's a cool little tool I found from EPI that tells you what you would probably be making if wage gains were still tied to productivity.

http://inequality.is/expensive

 

[coloradoatheist]

You want wages to improve due to productivity gains.

Wages generally stopped rising with productivity gains in the early 1980s, IIRC.

That, IMHO, is the biggest issue facing society at the moment.

Here's an article that explains how you have to use same comparisons when making these comparisons.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/07/productivity-and-compensation-growing-together

One of the isses has become, we have gotten more of our compensation from non-wages over time, but that's one of the issues.

But I actually disagree with the Fed Banker on this. He's a strong inflation stalwart and he's worried that wage inflation is a forward indicator of normal inflation and that the Fed must try and keep under 2%.

 

[Canard DuJour]

http://www.epi.org/blog/explicit-fighting-inflation-war-ensure-real/



Wages are getting out of hand.

Ok.

When wages "improve" due to inflation it doesn't actually benefit the workers.

Or hurt them since they'll be spending the same proportion of their income on the same quantity of goods and services. Inflation precipitated by wage increases OTOH - which is the issue here - may well benefit them as the inflation will likely be less than the wage increase.

You want wages to improve due to productivity gains.

Even better, but productivity gains might equally put downward pressure on wages.