Alternative Visions – Debunking the Hype of Rising Wages – 07.28.17

Dr. Rasmus initially comments on the continuing slowdown of prices and the Federal Reserve’s 9 year long phony targeting of 2% inflation.  Rasmus reviews his just published article in the European Financial Review, “The Limits of Central Banks’ Emerging Policy Shift” (available on his blog, jackrasmus.com) and what’s next after the Fed’s Jackson Hole gathering in late August. Next a comment on the Scaramucci appointment by Trump and the further deepening of Goldman Sachs influence over US policies, and evidence of a stock bubble growing in the US. Most of the show then focuses on data and reports debunking the official hype that wages are rising in the US: how Moody’s data since 2014 shows only 0.5% average wage increases, reports that show nearly half US households lack 3 months savings to pay bills and 57%-81% households of color have no savings at all, and how a recent report by MIT economists, “Fall of Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms”, how productivity gains and super profits  by Tech and other companies aren’t being shared with workers. The show concludes with a critique of the Democratic Party’s just released “Better Deal” appeal to working class and middle class households introduced last week, with its great gaps on single payer, trade, jobs, and tax cuts proposals.

Download this episode (right click and save)