From the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Real Earnings News Release yesterday:
Average weekly earnings rose by 4.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, from March 2006 to March 2007. After deflation by the CPI-W, average weekly earnings increased by 1.6 percent.
And here's one for Paul "the rich are getting it all" Krugman of the New York Times -- Note who is being surveyed when these numbers are determined:
Earnings series from the monthly establishment series are estimated arithmetic averages (means) of the hourly and weekly earnings of all production or nonsupervisory jobs in the private nonfarm sector of the economy.
It's Joe and Josephine Sixpack whose earnings have "really" increased in the past year.
Even more confirmation came from BLS today:
USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: FIRST QUARTER 2007
Median weekly earnings of the nations 105.9 million full-time wage and salary workers were $693 in the first quarter of 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 3.7 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 2.4 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the same period.
These BLS releases won't stop the Formerly Mainstream Media from claiming that wages are stagnant. They will just make those claims even less true than they have been for some time now.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
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The FKA MSM can't detecte any
April 18, 2007 - 11:12 ET by EdhenryThe FKA MSM can't detecte any barriers for Joe or Josephine Sixpack to move up and make as much money as they desire, based on effort (assuming that money will guarantee happyness). And they cannot say that getting rich is a zero sum game. They can only allude to an annointed caste that does not allow for opportunity, change or individual responsibility.
(Only thing holding some back is the inflated tuition, and increasing at a rate greater than inflation, at higher universities that overpay useless professors of soft sciences)
This is terrific news! Grea
April 18, 2007 - 16:12 ET by jdhawkThis is terrific news! Great report.
This is the best economy ever. As measured by presidential term, it beats all others - including the serial philanderer and liar, Clinton's.
April 18, 2007 - 16:12 ET by jdhawk
While the news below only imp
April 18, 2007 - 22:55 ET by jdhawkWhile the news below only impacts the economy if it went the other way, its impact would have been quite detrimental over the long run. With a priced controlled (the bill calls it drug price negotiation, but that's BS) drug industry, you could see new drugs slow or stop, drug companies move overseas, top scientists and business executives move to other industries and drug prices actually rise. Hurray for our Senate Republicans and for a couple of Dem senators that realized how detrimental price controls can be to an industry and to the economy as a whole.
Senate Blocks Drug Price Bill Dems fell 5 votes short of the 60 needed to end a filibuster of a measure to let the gov’t negotiate Medicare drug prices. Dems say the gov’t could get much bigger discounts. They accused the GOP of putting drug giants over the elderly. But Republicans say the current competition-based drug benefit program is far cheaper than predicted and offers more choice.