I wanna join you on that plane of existence of where average working class people can personally see the monetary benefits of the fabled "trickle down" economics that the GOP consistently says exist. I'd say the stigmatization and disolvement of labor unions, coupled with outsourcing of labor shifting the balance of power in favor of employers, plays a big part of this trend.
How can you suggest wages have increased when we have the greatest income disparity since the depression? Unemployment may be trending downward but people are having to work longer hours for less and less spending power -- you have an increasing amount of households which are working poor.
Wages are increasing across the board. When super basic jobs are now paying more than skilled labor, causes the skilled labor to go to those jobs. Then when skilled labor can't hire anyone. They raise wages. This demand for labor can only happen when there are more jobs than the population can normally provide. Creating competition for the workforce. Under Trump, he has flooded the market in skilled trades, creating more demand, and higher wages. Being paid more is better, regardless of spending power, because that changes far slower than pay does. Do you have sources on where people are working longer hours to make ends meet, or are they just working longer hours for more money? Huge difference.
I have said it before, I live in one of the most lucrative and easily affected states in the USA. Ohio is easily impacted by everything, because its so tied into markets and factory jobs. AS of right now, its one of the best states to live in, due to low cost of living, higher wages, and more diversity of employment. When gas stations offer 15$ an hour to fill their jobs, you know the market is good. And basing things on shit like "Spending power" varies greatly by state, and largely influenced by the political party in power. Same with taxes, not of the federal variety. Some states have much higher fuel tax than others. Some states have taxes on food, some do not. So generalizing all of USA by things like "Income disparity", when it varies by state. Its one of those things you cannot measure accurately.
As with Unions, they are a double edge sword. They either greatly harm, or greatly benefit the work force. They ensure hours, at the expense of efficiency. In a growing state, unions fuck them up. In an already well populated established state. They aid in maintaining a secure job. Unions are without a doubt, why nothing gets done. Due to the sheer amount of bureaucracy involved with them, and their heavy handed tactics forcing people to vote a certain way. Its much like a modern day guild. This creates issues, by not abiding by the market. If Unions demand members get paid more, even if the market is decreasing. This is where issues come in. They avoid this by getting monopolies, and inflating prices. Suddenly simple things like paving your drive way become obscenely expensive. Unions do nothing more than secure jobs, inflate prices, and decrease efficiency all for the sake of "protecting the worker". Even if they are not needed.
