Ecomomic indicators look good. The stock market it up. So, besides high gas prices, why do most people feel that the economy isn’t that great?
This article may help explain why
It seems that wages haven’t kept pace with work output, and even then the 11% wage increase we have seen since 1995 almost entirely occurred during the late 1990s. However, some groups fared better than others:
From 1973 to 2005, the median wage for women with a high school degree rose 7.4 percent. By contrast, the median wage for men with a high school degree fell nearly 14 percent.
For men with college degrees, they’re now earning 12.8 percent more than they did in 1973 while women with college degrees are taking home 26 percent more pay.
Since 2001, however, the median wage for both genders with college educations remained essentially flat.
And among young college graduates, their entry-level wages have fallen since 2000 — 79 cents per hour for men and 33 cents per hour for women.
So basically college helps, but the monetary premium attached to graduating from college has remained flat, and when you factor in increased higher education costs and rising student loan debt, I suspect many college grads don’t feel as if their education has given them much lately.
I read the other day that while wages have remained flat corporate executives are seeing huge wage increases. Is it any wonder that many Americans don’t feel like the economy is good?
Also, we are seeing a decline in the benefits companies offer. I partially blame workers for this though. Too many people treat health insurance as a “privilege to see a doctor for any little thing” entitlement. Plus, American workers don’t seem too concerned with their health or preventing disease. Let’s face it, you won’t have lower health care costs when you have uncontrolled obesity, laziness, and smoking (even among young people who know better). Also, a study of over 1,000 people showed that taking a 200 mcg Selenium pill a day can cut your risk of all cancers by 37% and colon cancer by 58%. I get my selenium pills from Healthy America. The cost? 1.8 cents/tablet. This is only $6.57 per year. That is probably the cost of one radioactive particle of cancer radiation treatment! However, when was the last time your doctor suggested you take Selenium or look for it in foods? Unfortunately foods high in selenium are nuts, seeds, and whole grains, and we Americans don’t eat a lot of these. Even if a larger study doesn’t show as dramatic results from taking selenium, what is $6.57 per year? A few packs of cigarettes? Two coffees at Starbucks?
And yes I know the population is aging. However, aging does not equal the need for high health care costs. My grandma has walked 2 miles a day for the last 30 years. She is 82 years old and is on one, count it, one, prescription medication. She has been on this since she was in her 20s for a thyroid problem. Health insurance is designed for folks like her, who take care of themselves, but occasionally may need expensive medical services. This is the definition of insurance.
In conclusion, I think right now we need innovative and worker-friendly solutions to this wage issue, not to mention a major plan to tackle our health care problems and rising student debt. However, I don’t think unions have been the answer (initially perhaps), and big business isn’t going to sacrifice profit for the welfare of average worker. And the government is clueless, no matter what administration is involved. I don’t know the answers. I wish I did.
