Post
Topic
Board Economics
Re: An interesting case of a widespread misconception
by
o_e_l_e_o
on 23/06/2020, 09:09:52 UTC
Seriously, what made you took 1973 as a starting year?
Pick any year you like. I'm simply using that year because as the data show, it disproves your assertion that wages have been outperforming inflation since WWII, when for the last 50 years they clearly haven't.

For the majority of the time, i.e. in 1976, 1977, etc, real wages have been outperforming inflation. You don't even seem to understand that "the majority of the time" refers to the majority of the years within that period as both inflation and wages are estimated on a yearly basis
Because taking individual years without looking at how well each year is performing is utterly meaningless.

Let's take your example. In the two year period of 1976 and 1977, real wages grew from $21.53 to $22.13. In the 18 months that followed, they fell from $22.13 to $21.36. That's a net loss of $0.17. You can say that wages "outperformed inflation" for the majority of that time period if you like, but you are purposefully omitting the important data.