Because we get paid more then we did 20 years ago so milk is more expensive then it was 20 years ago. Also not all manufacturing jobs or even the majority of manufacturing jobs in the American provide good pay, pensions and benefits and the high end manufacturing jobs will still stay in the US. Do lawyer get paid poorly? Does you doctor get paid poorly? I ask because they provide a service which you classify as low pay with no pension or benefits. There is a shortage right now a million nurses I believe the average nurse makes between 50-70,000 a year depending on skills and location. That doesn't sound like a low paying service jobs.
The average starting salary for an account in 2004 was over $50,000 a year, there is a huge demand for accountants. 20 years ago there was no or little need for webmasters, in the last 5 - 10 years there has been a huge demand that people with those skills. In the last 5 years we see the need for SEO work increase dramatically and pay for that work has also increase. In the next 5, 10 20 years there will be jobs created that doesn't exist today and good pay and benefits and in the next 5, 10, 20 years will see jobs that are here today disappear but that's what happens in economies that change and grow.
There is a shortage of 120,000 nurses against a loss of over 3 million high wage manufacturing jobs since 1998.
Historically in the US periods of deflation have been followed by economic depression with the last one leading to the great depression. Deflation is not normal in fact one could say that the dollar is deflating. I’m glad you bring up this point because for about the last 20 years we have been running trade deficits with the rest of the world and you can’t keep buy more goods from other countries forever and with the dollar falling, our exports are surging and the trade deficit is starting to come into balance. Actually my friend the nominal GDP has grown at 5.37% at an annualized rate which comes out to 68% compounded over 10 years so if the money supply increased 50% over 10 years its not out of norm.
I believe I read that there is a shortage of a million nurses right now and by 2020 there will be a shortage of a million doctors as well. Also since 2000 I believe we created about 3 million new jobs in construction.
that sounds kind of high, maybe some big cities skew those numbers, maybe more like 40-60 those jobs are all going away rapidly, construction is tanking big time, there are tons of out of work construction/carpenter people right now
Construction is certainly in decline. That's another Fed bubble where the US exports dollars and foreign banks make subprime loans to people that can't afford to pay it back. Anyway a lot of those construction workers are illegal aliens sending the money back to mexico.
So you're saying that wages go up before prices. Right. Wages drive the market. If the dollar is not inflating, how can we make more per hour? No matter how you try to irrationally justify it, monetary inflation is why prices, wages, debt and deficit spending rise. The problem is, deficit spending drives monetary inflation, not natural growth in the market.
Not only do wages go up before prices do, they go up more then prices do. Depending on what field you work in most people get a yearly raise depending on the success of the business that they work in.
Since September 1997, the cost of living has risen 26%, while the minimum wage has fallen in real value. After adjusting for inflation, the value of the minimum wage is at its lowest level since 1955. Wage inequality has been increasing, in part, because of the declining real value of the minimum wage. Today, the minimum wage is 31% of the average hourly wage of American workers, the lowest level since the end of World War II. An estimated 13.0 million workers (10% of the workforce) receive minimum wage An additional 7.4 million workers (6% of the workforce) earning slightly above the minimum http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguides_minwage_minwagefacts
Care to point out where the wages before price increase info occurs? It's an interesting site, I'm just not seeing the foundation for your argument.
Yes what you said is true about the minimum wage but what conveniently left out is that the vast majority of people who work minimum wage jobs are white suburban teenagers 16-19 working their first job living at home with their parents
Where prices increase before or after wages doesn't matter as long as wages increase more then prices.
I must be missing something as even your source does not back up what you said. I just got back from the gym though so it's possible I missed something Even if it did back up what you said, a mere 5 cent an hour raise would put people over the minimum wage, hardly making a dent in what they make but nice for stats such as this.
According to the U.S. Dept of Labor, of the 75.6 million Americans who are paid by the hour, fewer than 1.9 million work at or below the $5.15 per hour minimum wage. Over half of these are young people ages 16-24. Only 296,000 men and 584,000 women over age 25 worked at or below $5.15 per hour in 2005. Sixty-four percent of jobs earning $5.15 or less were in "leisure and hospitality" - in other words, restaurants and hotels or campgrounds. Those earning below minimum wage generally earn tips to supplement their wages. The idea that there are millions of people trying to earn a living for a family at $5.15 per hour is false. For example, in the manufacturing industry in America, 10,299,000 workers were paid hourly wages in 2005, but only 39,000 of these were paid $5.15 or less per hour. The majority of people who earn minimum wage are unskilled young people at their first job. As they continue working, their employers generally raise their wages to reflect their job experience and skill.
One thing that stat fails to examine is the fact that many workers who make below $5.15 are making tipped minimum wages, and are generally not reporting earnings that are cash.