Why do you think wages aren't growing still?

Wage growth this year barely kept up with inflation. And when you consider that housing, healthcare, and education are still spiralling upward faster then it means that US workers are actually falling behind still. You'd think with such a tight job market that wages would start growing more, but they just aren't. Why do you think that is?

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Mamapolo2016 · F

It takes a little time for the tail to catch up with the dog. If the economy continues, that should begin to change. When people become confident of the turn-around they won't accept lowest wage because they have options. Right now most are just grateful to GET a job.

Xuan12 · 31-35, M

@Mamapolo2016 Yeah, but wages have been stagnant like this since the 70s. :/

ForeverGrowingOld · 22-25, F

@Mamapolo2016 oof I feel that one... I applied to maybe 50 places before I turned 18, never got a call back. Applied to 3 places the day before my 18th birthday and just put down that I was 18, got a call for an interview the next day. I took the job because I doubted any where else would call. Problem was, at my interview I was promised I'd be making $9.25 and working full time... I was hired in at $9 part time. But I was just so relieved to have a job I stayed

Mamapolo2016 · F

@Xuan12 I'm not sure what you mean, but wages have increased dramatically since the 70s and so has inflation. It's not the dollar amount that matters, it's the buying power, and that's been stagnant for a while.

When the economy loosens and the job market tightens to the worker's advantage, wages go up.

When you could hire a doctorate for a high school grad's wages, why would wages increase? Employers don't usually pay because they recognize your value, they pay what you or somebody like you will accept.

Xuan12 · 31-35, M

@Mamapolo2016 That is what I meant of course, and I know what you're saying, I just don't know how it explains the stagnant (actually declining in my opinion) buying power of Americans. Since the 70s there have been ups and downs, but US workers keep falling behind in any case, even as GDP growth outpaces them. The upward pressure on wages is anemic.

Mamapolo2016 · F

@Xuan12 I think part of it is what we buy now and how we buy it.

There was a time when if people couldn't afford a TV they didn't have one. Now the most absurdly financially strapped people lease BMWs and buy $900 cell phones and $5000 computers with credit.

The sellers don't have to hold or lower prices because people will buy stuff out of their reach anyway.

With unemployment unpleasantly high, the 'system' went credit top-heavy, which destabilizes buying power.

My personal conviction is a question I've been asking for a while is driving what we see. "Yes, but what if the world DOESN'T end?"