>No they aren't really. The average real hourly wage is up 7% since
>mid-1995 - not a great performance over the course of 4.5 years, but
>not bad by recent U.S. history.
i pulled the numbers off BLS. i fail to see anything unusually outstanding about wage growth. granted, i didn't get my calculator out, but what i saw was a steady 3-4% increase in wages from year to year over the past decade. and i sure as heck didn't see growth in the low-level service/retail sector wages that max claims. i'd say that it's precisely the issue, 7% compared to stagnant growth isn't anything to get excited over. a 30ct wage gain in 1982 dollars over a decade is something to cheer about.....?
you guys are the economists.... kelley