Does Wolff’s figure refer to hours worked per family?
His blackboard graph confirms recurrent reports that real wages in the US have stagnated for decades. A Google search with “low wages in America” found “Over the last 20 years the real wages of blue-collar workers in the US have risen only 1.1%, although total compensation was up 10% thanks to the rise in benefit costs. Service workers did a little better in wages, with a 1.4% increase, but over all had only a 9.1% increase in compensation over the two decades.” More at nytimes.com/ 2006/ 02/ 04/ business/ 04charts.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print Wolff rightly notes how competition between employers for profits causes them to reduce wages then to complain demand is too low, from 18:42 mins. But this endemic problem requires a systemic solution not escape into irony! Responsible employers have paid good wages and militant trades unions have obtained a proper share of output. Now free trade with nations where low productivity requires very low wages compounds the proble
