Let's get real as far as wages are concerned

(Public Domain)

If the Staten Island ferry used to cost a nickel, then 20 rides would have been a dollar.  If rides are now a dollar each, then 20 could set you back a whole Andrew Jackson.

If someone had given you a nickel back then, you’d get to Staten Island once.  If someone were to give you a dollar now, you might still just get there once.  Today’s dollar, in a very

real sense, would then be the equivalent of yesterday’s nickel.

In the same frustrating way, today’s “real wages are essentially back at 1974 levels.”   Due to inflation, your current paycheck has no greater purchasing power than your 1974 one did. 

Four-plus decades of backbreaking labor have therefore not furthered you financially.  They’ve merely kept you afloat.  So what’s the point?  Mere survival? Hopefully, you've made your (tiny amount of) spare time count for more than just that.

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/real-wages-are-essentially-back-at-1974-levels-report-shows/ar-BBLUiNe?OCID=ansmsnnews11

Copyright August 30, 2018 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved