Economic trends bode poorly for the working man
Jonathan Rauch at National Journal has an excellent in-depth exploration of what’s happening in the American economy. The headline, “The No Good, Very Bad Outlook for the Working-Class American Man,” captures its thesis perfectly.
The article focuses on themes that I’ve tried to address here as well, such as the blog post earlier this week detailing how employees are being forced to split an ever-smaller share of the economic pie, while the share of the economy going into corporate profits increases. The National Journal piece tells a similar story through a different chart, this one focusing on increased productivity and how the benefits have been allocated:
Source: National Journal
As Rauch notes, and as the chart illustrates, for decades employees shared in the benefits of greater productivity. As labor became more efficient, both employees and employers shared in the benefits. However, that relationship ended somewhere in the late 1970s, at what you might call “the Big Break” in the U.S. economy. (You see that same transformation occurring at the same time across a wide variety of statistical measures — income distribution, median household income, etc.)
Productivity growth — the chart’s red line — continued and even accelerated after the Big Break, but suddenly blue-collar and non-supervisory workers stopped sharing in the benefits of that increase. A little bit later, the same thing began to happen to a lesser degree to employees in general.
Rauch describes the implications:
As a result, less-educated workers are in trouble, and men are in trouble, and less-educated men are in deep trouble. The problem has become more serious than most people realize. “It has reached a very extreme point,” said David Autor, a labor economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Only a minority of Americans obtain four-year college degrees, and yet the economy offers ever-fewer well-paying jobs for men with nothing more than a high school diploma. Since 1969, the weekly earnings of the median full-time male worker have stagnated, according to economists Michael Greenstone of MIT and Adam Looney of the Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project on economic growth. Stagnation is disappointing, to put it mildly, given that the per capita gross domestic product has more than doubled (adjusted for inflation) since 1969.
But men with only high school diplomas have faced worse than stagnation: Their earnings have dropped by around a fourth. And men who didn’t finish high school have fared worse still: Their incomes sank by more than a third, leaving their inflation-adjusted earnings stranded in the 1950s.
In effect, the economy is telling less-educated men: Get lost.
That has critically important social implications. If high-school educated males are earning a fourth less than their fathers, they are less able to support a family and less attractive as potential mates. If they do marry and support a family, they are less likely to be able to afford health insurance for them or to pay for higher education.
As exit polls and other data demonstrate, the Republican Party has managed to convince white working-class males that the economic challenges outlined by Rauch can be traced to excess government and, to be blunt, “those people.” It’s an explanation that might feel right and that resonates emotionally. By providing an alternative explanation to that illustrated in today’s chart, it also happens to suit the purposes of those who fund the campaigns and pay the bills for the GOP and its associated organizations.*
However, that narrative cannot plausibly account for the type of dramatic, even traumatic change documented in the chart above. There is no mechanism by which government can be said to be driving that trend. It’s not caused by taxes; it’s not caused by the deficit. And if more and more Americans have become reliant on government, it’s in part a consequence of, not a cause of, the economic decline depicted here.
But here’s the most frightening thing about the chart above: The trend that it illustrates shows no signs of moderating. This is a transformation that could continue to play out for a long, long time, and if we don’t do something to reverse it or adjust to it, it will change the nature of American society.
– Jay Bookman
* (An aside: Did it strike anyone else as odd that when Dick Armey left FreedomWorks, the ostensibly grassroots Tea Party organization, he was handed a golden parachute of $8 million? I had no idea the grassroots had so much green.)
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362 comments Add your comment
alex
December 7th, 2012
11:41 am
@ Debbie , with all do respect I included “quality”. You, in a rant choose to ignore it, plain and simple. You want to be read and heard, you should do the same with other contributions. Your contributions are therefore not respected by me…
2 Jamvet, perhaps it’s time to start a new party….another option… good luck!
Erwin's cat
December 7th, 2012
11:42 am
http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/Italian-Grilled-Steak
http://karistaskitchen.com/2010/07/02/tuscan-style-grilled-steaks-with-fresh-rosemary-and-garlic/
here’s a couple variations on the Tuscan steak. If done properly it;s seared on the outside at a very high temp and very rare in the middle
DebbieDoRight -- The Only Thing Wrong With Capitalism Is Capitalists...
December 7th, 2012
11:44 am
Jefferson: Basic human fairness has yeilded to greed and selfishness. People are not that different as paydays are different.
Heard on the news the other day about this Vet who started, for whatever reason, paying people’s Electricity bills inside of a Ga. Power office. It made me feel good. Sometimes I think I get so jaded and cynical about the world; but then I hear stuff like that and it makes me feel better. There ARE people out there who actually CARe about someone other than themselves — and as Americans we have such huge hearts and such a capacity for giving and hoping that I’m in awe sometimes of how “great” a nation we really are. Our greatness doesn’t come from money/things, but from our selflessness to others.
If there’s a typhoon in Japan, Americans are the first to reach into their wallets to give. Earthquake in Haiti? ditto.
===========================
Finn — Oxtails – you’re so right!! Aren’t oxtails considered the “lesser” part of the cow? It’s tough and it takes HOURS to cook…………….so you’re right — why ARE they so expensive?
stands for decibels
December 7th, 2012
11:44 am
DDR, it’s pretty simple. cut away the waste on the outside, slice it into something that will allow a nice outside sear but still quite rare inside (about 4 minutes/side on a rocket-hot grill). A little salt on both sides prior to grilling, some ground pepper afterwards while it rests for, well, as long as you can stand to let it rest!
And the rest of the loin gets sliced, wrapped carefully in waxed paper (easily separated), and then into plastic bags so it’s not freezer burned. Freezer burning this should be punishable by hard labor.
stands for decibels
December 7th, 2012
11:45 am
here’s a couple variations on the Tuscan steak. If done properly it;s seared on the outside at a very high temp and very rare in the middle
Ok, dat do look good.
stands for decibels
December 7th, 2012
11:46 am
Oh, and another victim of hipster inflation–that’d be skirt steak, which I understand they used to have to practically give away, now it’s at least six bucks a pound, since everyone uses it for fajitas, now.
Finn de Siècle (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
December 7th, 2012
11:47 am
Well, actually oxtails make a great vietnamese pho where you want the flavor of the bone/marrow as well as the meat. But we have found we can make good pho with chicken which is, what, $.99 to $1.99 lb?
Corbin Sharpe. Baby Boomer leech...and earned it!
December 7th, 2012
11:47 am
Finn,
I saw that this morning and I couldn’t believe it. Reid make Mitch look like…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Kh7nLplWo
————————-
JAM,
That article opened my eyes some., for sure, but they still are the best act we’ve got…sad as that is.
getalife
December 7th, 2012
11:47 am
“(AP) — The U.S. economy added a solid 146,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008. The government said Superstorm Sandy had only a minimal effect on the figures.”
Great news.
stands for decibels
December 7th, 2012
11:48 am
Gotta leave the time-suck awhile. Later…
Finn de Siècle (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
December 7th, 2012
11:49 am
A better cut of beef than tenderloin (to me) is the prime rib which you can catch at Costco during the holidays for around $7.00 lb. We buy it in 3-4 rib packs and a single rib slice will feed a family of 3 for 1-2 meals.
With some horseradish? Ohohoh
Erwin's cat
December 7th, 2012
11:49 am
Finn – I’m always on the look out for a good pho recipe
Mama Says
December 7th, 2012
11:50 am
seems to me that by speaking to this matter the Liberals have revealed their intent.
The only resonable way to fix this problem to tax the bigs more and redistribute the money via government intervention. If not that then Jay is simply telling us this in order to let all the young males out there know tha they need an education, something that we already know.
The entire problem with the liberal think tank is that you look at the haves as being responsible for the have nots. The fact is that the game is called capitalisim, its the system we play in, its the base of our freedoms. To open a company and work your butt off to make it big and then give it to your kids is an effort that cannot be looked at as bad. The entire argument fails in basic accepted capitalistic thought. The only way to “balance the scales” would have to be to take from one group and give to another. If that is the answer we should be open about it and simply vote to change our form of government.
We can put Capitalist Republic, Socialist Monarchy and Communist Dictatorship on the ballot and let the people decide. Lets stop talking about all this and put it to a vote. In a free republic the givernment cannot take from one and give to another to promote balance and good., Its a self defeating effort, by definition- if this is what we have chosen we are no longer a free republic. We have to be a socialist country. No hyberbole in that statement its just real talk.
JamVet
December 7th, 2012
11:51 am
alex, per that article, I’d settle for a decent Democratic Party instead of this abomination that now exists.
Corporations are not people, my friend, Mr. Romney. ~JamVet 2012
Finn de Siècle (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
December 7th, 2012
11:51 am
One of the early slave revolts on American soil was in New England. The slaves were revolting because their owners were trying to make them eat LOBSTER at every meal.
Finn de Siècle (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
December 7th, 2012
11:54 am
Stands is leaving to go to the grocery store…
hehehe
Doggone/GA
December 7th, 2012
11:54 am
“What is crazy is $4.99 lb for oxtails. I just don’t understand that”
I saw a show about that. Basically, the idea was that if you want cheap cuts cheaply, go to the richer parts of town…if you want the expensive cuts for less, go to the poorer parts of town.
Stephenson Billings
December 7th, 2012
11:55 am
“Great news”
Santelli: ‘They Love to Fib About Statistics’
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?play=1&video=3000134005
DebbieDoRight -- The Only Thing Wrong With Capitalism Is Capitalists...
December 7th, 2012
11:55 am
@alex – Alex. sigh………. I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings, talk about your taste in men/women OR belittle you. I was just commenting on what you saidit was not a personal attack. I’m sorry if I offended you, but alex; this is a blog, and though you’re probably an exceptional person, kind and full of life — I’m just not that into you. Sorry.
stands — I wouldn’t DARE try to do anything with Beef Tenderloin. I’ll leave the artistry of cooking, (because good cooking IS an art), to the master.
Finn — Same comment as above! I like oxtails, but the best i can do is this stew that my mother makes when she puts hte oxtails in a crock pot with some yucca, sweet potatoes and peanuts. Other than that……
JamVet
December 7th, 2012
11:55 am
Mama van Winkle, yet what you decry is exactly what the chart shows.
Take from the poor and give to the rich. Republican “capitalism”…
The answer is there is too much power and too much wealth in too few hands and the few control our government and the few create the problems and the injustices for the many and have less and less interest in doing anything about it because they can get away with it. ~Ralph Nader 1996
getalife
December 7th, 2012
11:58 am
There is no fiscal crises in America.
Our economy is returning to normal.
cons lose again.
Joe Hussein Mama
December 7th, 2012
11:58 am
DDR — “why ARE they so expensive?”
A lot of US and British beef producers started destroying them outright during the mad cow scare. From what my dad’s told me, a human consumer would expose themselves to greater risk of transmission by consuming neural tissue such as the brain and spinal column — and that’d include the tail. Consequently, many beef producers in industrialized nations started destroying that tissue outright as part of processing. Result: less oxtail availability and higher prices when you can find it.
Mama Says
December 7th, 2012
11:59 am
Jam please explain your logic. maybe I am missing something.
who is taking from who and how
nathan's political arsonist
December 7th, 2012
11:59 am
wealth disparity.. very simple.. the wider it grows, the more the common man is screwed. if the government doesn’t move to address it, eventually the people will
Old Goober
December 7th, 2012
11:59 am
A better cut of beef than tenderloin (to me) is the prime rib which you can catch at Costco during the holidays for around $7.00 lb. We buy it in 3-4 rib packs and a single rib slice will feed a family of 3 for 1-2 meals.
I get prime rib at Whole Foods—nothing but prime cut there. For the horseradish sauce, I use Inglehoffer. If it’s too sharp for you, you can always cut it with some sour cream.
United Statesman
December 7th, 2012
12:02 pm
The collapse of worker’s wages was hastened dramatically when Ronald Reagan froze the minimum wage for the duration of his presidency. The myth at the time was that only high school kids working at McDonald’s made minimum wage. In fact, many younger workers with families suffered.
Regarding labor unions: Many companies have good relationships with their unions. It makes sense for them to negotiate one contract covering all employees instead of thousands of individual contracts.
Common Sense isn't very Common
December 7th, 2012
12:03 pm
DDR
My bro-n-law has to be the most kindnest man EVAH to put up with a bunch of women, (one pregnant, one half crazy, and one special needs
—————————————————————————-
Which one are you
alex
December 7th, 2012
12:05 pm
@ Jamvet, end of Starbucks, eh ? can’t go that far, $1.75 ($.25 tip) tall Christmas blend…ADDICT !
Stephenson Billings
December 7th, 2012
12:05 pm
I guess I’m doing it wrong….
‘Welfare Spending Equates to $168 Per Day for Every Household in Poverty’
“The amount of money spent on welfare programs equals, when converted to cash payments, about $168 per day for every household in poverty.
…welfare spending per day per household in poverty is $168, which is higher than the $137 median income per day. When broken down per hour, welfare spending per hour per household in poverty is $30.60, which is higher than the $25.03 median income per hour.”
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/welfare-spending-equates-168-day-every-household-poverty_665160.html
That Black Guy
December 7th, 2012
12:06 pm
Off topic:
Bro-C, I have noticed that you sometimes have trouble spilling you coke on your keyboard when someone says something, er, what’s the word? Dumb.
May I suggets one of these:
http://www.jewelryandbabyblingbydara.com/blingsippycup.html
For the ABM that has everything…
getalife
December 7th, 2012
12:06 pm
” if the government doesn’t move to address it, eventually the people will”
Exactly.
Mama Says
December 7th, 2012
12:07 pm
Jam I am waiting
JamVet
December 7th, 2012
12:07 pm
American/multinational CEOs gave themselves a 396% increase in income from 1992 – 2007. During that time they convinced (with mountains of money) members of the US government to lower their tax rate by 37%.
They gave basically no increases at all to their American employees during those years. Though productivity per employee more than doubled.
Also, of note, corporate profits are at all time highs.
Your idea of capitalism is perverted, and why as George Bush noted in September of 2008, “This sucker could go down.”
Please explain why economic injustice is good for America.
getalife
December 7th, 2012
12:08 pm
Looks like I picked the right time to retire.
I would advise Americans to remove the gop from our economy to fix these gaps.
Good luck.
indigo
December 7th, 2012
12:09 pm
Mama – 11:50
Has it ever occured to you, even once, that a Socialist Government is not necessarly a Monarchy and a Communist Government does not necessarly have to be a Dictatorship?
Mama Says
December 7th, 2012
12:09 pm
getalife,
if you guys really believe that the you cant support capitalisim becasue you are saying that if the government dosent take it you will. So at what point does the poorer lees fortunate take it from you ?
getalife
December 7th, 2012
12:11 pm
mama,
I have no idea what you are talking about but here is a new idea.
A global consumer union.
Mama Says
December 7th, 2012
12:13 pm
Indigo,
what hs occurred to me is that you cannot call the U.S a free republic when you advocate taking from the rich or better off and giving it to anyone else. The effort, although well placed, gives the government the power to decide when you have more than you need and therefore the right to take it, give temselves a slice and then give it to someone else. Its a basic violation of a free country. That is not freedom its socailism and or communisim.
no amount of reasoning or justification can change that fact.
Mama Says
December 7th, 2012
12:15 pm
getalife
you did support the concept that was posted earlier that id the government dosent fix it the people will right ?
i asked you how you fix it and what you do when u become one that has to much
JamVet
December 7th, 2012
12:15 pm
Mama, I’m waiting.
LOL.
getalife
December 7th, 2012
12:16 pm
mama,
I support capitalism but trickle dowm, invisible hand and laffer curve is all bs.
The focus on the wealthy worked for them but failed the rest of the American people.
Focus on the middle class American worker will work.
Mama Says
December 7th, 2012
12:18 pm
i asked for examples of the government taking from th epoor and giving to the rich. All of you support the concept of taking from the rich and giving to the poor. I need examples of when the corporate folks got this treatment.
getalife, go ask your boss if you benefit from him or your company making money please. then again you could go csh the check that they give you for doing the work that you agreed to do.
Finn de Siècle (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
December 7th, 2012
12:19 pm
thanks for the oxtail explanation. also, I’ll check oxtail prices in buckhead next time i’m over that way or shopping for recreational drugs.
getalife
December 7th, 2012
12:19 pm
“you did support the concept that was posted earlier that id the government dosent fix it the people will right ?”
Based on world history , yes.
But I think changing focus from just the wealthy to all middle class workers will address the gaps.
No need for a revolution just change in focus like we are doing now.
getalife
December 7th, 2012
12:21 pm
“getalife, go ask your boss”
I am retired.
I am the boss.
getalife
December 7th, 2012
12:24 pm
The battle to change focus from just the wealthy to the middle class was won in the last election.
Get the gop out of the way of our economy and continue this focus on the middle class is the way to go.
Mama Says
December 7th, 2012
12:24 pm
getalife
at the risk of being a smarta**, who is giving you your retirement check while you are not working for them ?
Mama Says
December 7th, 2012
12:25 pm
all this general talk is wonderful. I am asking you folks who we take the money from and when they have taken it from you
That Black Guy
December 7th, 2012
12:27 pm
Doggone/GA
December 7th, 2012
11:17 am
“From my own experience, the company I work for has been hiring and expanding since I’ve been here. All that dispite efforts from enviromental (hardly conservative or republican) groups to harm my industry”
Another way of saying: my industry can absorb and comply with environtmental regulations and still grow and remain profitable
_________________________________________________________________
No, not really.
The push from the enviromental groups is the out right ban of our packaging (bottles). How do you absorb that? Our industry has one of the highest rates for the use of recycled raw materials out there, that cost can be absorbed. An all out ban on the use of plastic bottles would put my employer out of business. That would mean the loss of about 5000 jobs nationwide. Not to mention the impact on suppliers.
getalife
December 7th, 2012
12:29 pm
Mind your business mama.
Mama Says
December 7th, 2012
12:32 pm
i am getalife,
you advocate taking money from people as a formal government policy, as you draw from the very people you condem, as you do not work for them–that is my business
getalife
December 7th, 2012
12:32 pm
“all this general talk is wonderful. I am asking you folks who we take the money from and when they have taken it from you”
What in the world are you talking about?
DebbieDoRight -- The Only Thing Wrong With Capitalism Is Capitalists...
December 7th, 2012
12:37 pm
Joe: Result: less oxtail availability and higher prices when you can find it.
Ahhh the oldest story……..demand/price/availability! thanks joe!
====================
nathan: the more the common man is screwed. if the government doesn’t move to address it, eventually the people will
History 101 — this has happened again and again in the history of the world. Tsarist Russia; French Revolution, American Revolution, etc., etc., etc. When will they learn?
Mama Says
December 7th, 2012
12:41 pm
this cant be so hard.
are yo not saying that the middle class and the poor need to be taken care of ?
all of you are talking about an income gap and the rich are better off, make to much money. that is the topic right ?
you know darn well what I am asking ! I will ask it again. Who do you take the money from to help the middle class and When have those from whom you would to take, taken it from you ?
simple questioin
getalife
December 7th, 2012
12:44 pm
mama,
The mindless governing for the wealthy only ended.
Your ideology lost.
Doggone/GA
December 7th, 2012
12:57 pm
“The push from the enviromental groups is the out right ban of our packaging (bottles). How do you absorb that?”
One way is to move to biodegradable plastic bottles. They do exist.
Brosephus™
December 7th, 2012
1:03 pm
TBG @ 12:06
You know I gotta get my hands on one of those now… Gonna be bloggin’ while blingin’.
I also noticed that Mr. Billings didn’t ever come back and acknowlege the fact that Obama and the Dems signing off on the sequestration, which the GOP supported, was nothing more than the GOP getting the government spending cuts they’ve been whining about. It doesn’t surprise me that nobody wants to own up to the bad stuff that their ideology is responsible for.
alex
December 7th, 2012
1:26 pm
@ jam they income discrepency has entirely gotten out of hand, as Bogle has asked “how much is too much”… Return arguement is that the companies are now so much larger….
STUPID LIBERAL
December 7th, 2012
1:50 pm
Yep, a half a million people gave up looking for work, so of course, the jobless rate falls.
proof for you blind dummycrats.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/unemployment-rate-falls-more-adults-discouraged-quit-looking-165711644.html
dabir dalton
December 7th, 2012
8:02 pm
Jay the beginning of the decline of male wages can also be traced to the beginning of the rise of feminism – a movement of hatred directed towards men as a group – and a movement that spineless liberal males such as yourself have supported to the detriment of their sons. The rise of the welfare state – single motherhood – the movement to murder children while in the womb all keystones of both the feminist and liberal agenda and all equally damaging to our society. So the next time your tempted to point the finger at conservatives – their sins are many just as the liberals – take a good look in the mirror and at your hand and you’ll find three fingers pointing right back at cha for every one you point at someone else.
ev
December 9th, 2012
5:16 pm
Jay does this take into account benefits or just hourly wages. It is misleading if it only takes into account wages.
ev
December 9th, 2012
5:19 pm
As I thought. It is just hourly wages. Let’s see a graph that has total compensation and benefits.