> According to this chart, most income groups have barely grown richer since 1979.
It's worth pointing out that the primary way most professions get more buying power is by prices coming down, not wages going up.
This "barely grown richer" is just flat-out wrong. Everyone in countries with remotely decent governance are much better than people 33 years ago were. Much better. That needs to be acknowledged before any handwringing starts.
A friend of mine in the industry points out (referring to the original Mother Jones article) that he and his wife have a net worth at least 100 times greater than it was when they first married. Accumulation of wealth comes about just by working steadily (as they both have) while growing older. In his words, "We have 100x the net worth of our younger selves (because the starting number was so low). Is that horrible inequality or the desirable progression of life?"
I've done well by myself too, but two points do not make a trend. It's clear from looking at the numbers that most people are not doing better over time. Furthermore, I'm well aware that I'm probably one slip (e.g. a major health problem, a corporate cutback) away from a significant decline, but that's more or less out of my control, so I try not to worry about it.
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 33.9 ms ] threadIt's worth pointing out that the primary way most professions get more buying power is by prices coming down, not wages going up.
This "barely grown richer" is just flat-out wrong. Everyone in countries with remotely decent governance are much better than people 33 years ago were. Much better. That needs to be acknowledged before any handwringing starts.