So if this trend continues where will wages be in 10, 20, and 30 years or more?

[Quixote1818]

This chart is startling, not just for what it shows for the past 40 years most of which have been under trickle down economics, as wages have dropped at a very steady rate, but also because it makes you wonder where wages are headed if we continue this trend? At what year will most americans be living below poverty level? If I were Obama I would break out this chart and then show where things are headed and ask the American people if they really want to continue with trickle down economics and eventual poverty for most of the 99% ers.




3. Wages as a percent of the economy are at an all-time low. In other words, corporate profits are at an all-time high, in part, because corporations are paying less of their revenue to employees than they ever have. There are lots of reasons for this, many of which are not the fault of the corporations. (It's a global economy now, and 2-3 billion new low-cost employees in China, India, et al, have recently entered the global workforce. This is putting pressure on wages the world over.)

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. How about a flat system where, barter included, people take care of each

others' real needs and community and compassion are far stronger as a result? Deep money needs would not be particularly important.

[jwirr]

5. While I do not have that much faith in human nature - that would be

the direction to travel. For some of us there will be no good answers. I am thinking of my disabled daughter who need a lot of expensive medical help. Even if the family does the actual hands on care.

[Fire Walk With Me]

7. Ah, doctors and nurses would be part of it. Need and supply...

It's already beginning at #OWS.

[jwirr]

8. I am hoping. And yes the doctors and care providers are already

talking about this. We had a staffing and were discussing what we were worried about. I was surprised to see that even her social worker (care manager) is thinking in terms of what happens if the system collapses. I do know that her foster family is storing supplies and he is working on alternatives to her meds as he is an herbalist. We are doing everything we can.

Does anyone know if the DHS is doing anything about making sure that there is an adequate supply of drugs in this country if we faced some form of isolation from the drug makers? I have seen a lot of documents from the government about scenarios regarding collapse but those reports never include what they are doing to prepare. Other than preparing the military.

[Fire Walk With Me]

9. I've been considering that. Hopefully hospitals etc. will jump on it at the first sign of trouble.

[jwirr]

11. One of these days I am going to get the courage up to ask my

doctor some of these questions. I am afraid of looking crazy to him.

[ChazII]

13. Good points.

Without my meds, I'd be having more seizures. My father uses meds for his diabetes as diet alone no longer works at his age -83.

[WinkyDink]

15. I believe that's called "The Medieval Era." Barter?!

[Fire Walk With Me]

17. A partial method of taking care of each other. We'll see how it works out

especially through #OWS.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

2. I think they will keep going lower

as, unless the trade agreements are modified, we will be truly competing with all countries for jobs, and that will be reflected in wages.

Competing against people that make under a dollar an hour.

[FarCenter]

3. In 30 years, fossil fuel supplies will be partially exhausted and GDP may be a lot lower

As cheap energy supplies diminish, the ability to make high returns on capital may diminish faster than returns to labor decline.

Therefore, labor income to GDP may actually increase as the economy deteriorates.

[L0oniX]

4. We'll be moving to Mexico for a job that pays better.

[SheilaT]

6. When Henry Ford started paying his workers

five dollars a day, the other car makers were outraged, and told him it was a huge mistake and so on. But Ford understood that if the people who made the cars couldn't afford to buy them, there was no real market for cars in the long run.

Today, the CEO's don't seem to understand that their workers need to be able to afford the products they make, or the services the provide. Wages can only go so low, and perhaps they'll decline a lot more, but I'm hoping that a realization will finally dawn. And that certain laws will be passed to equalize a few things.

[lunasun]

10. In the US ?down Indonesia? up "economic integration" free traders call it

middle class is truly a endangered species in US In China it is (now, but not as it runs it course globally) a growing one

[SOS]

12. Same as the last 30 years

declining inflation-adjusted wages with decreasing benefits.

[RegieRocker]

14. Wages are secondary to cost of goods to survive.

Make a chart showing how much things have gone up in price for the same period then overlay them. That is the true picture.

[pampango]

16. Interesting that the the Clinton economy saw such a boom in wage growth.

You often see Clinton's economic record reduced to "He was lucky for the stock market/tech bubble." In fact, wages paid to labor increased dramatically as a percentage of the economy despite (because of?) NAFTA in 1994, not the percentage paid to CEO's and investors.

Then, of course, by 2006 (even before his recession started) bush drove the wage share of the economy to below where it was at the start of the Clinton administration.

Looking at the graph it seems that the wage share of the economy has grown under every Democrat (except JFK) and fallen under every republican (no exceptions) with much of the damage coming during and just after recessions.

[Terry in Austin]

18. There are going to be wages in 30 years?

Bold prediction!

:7