[lbo-talk] The abrupt decline in living standards

[Shane Mage]

Nobody reported "declining or stagnant real earnings" because nobody--not you, not me, not anybody--thinks of their earnings on terms of the index numbers (and that is what "real" signifies, an actual currency amount divided by an index number) invented by government agencies to estimate some current statistic in terms of some earlier or later one. And changes in current income cannot be used to indicate changes in living standards because such things as homes and gardens are enjoyed by being there, not by being purchased. And what is purchased camn be paid for in many other ways than out of current income.

Shane Mage

This cosmos did none of gods or men make, but it 
always was and is and shall be: an everlasting fire, 
kindling in measures and going out in measures. 

 
Herakleitos of Ephesos 

On Aug 9, 2016, at 1:34 PM, Marv Gandall wrote:


> A recent study strikingly confirms what we already know - that living standards have declined precipitously in the advanced capitalist countries and are mainly responsible for struggling workers and small propertyholders seeking new political alternatives to their left and right.
> 
> The study by McKinsey Global Institute says that between 65-70% of households in 25 advanced capitalist countries, representing some 500 million people, reported declining or stagnant real earnings over the past decade. This is in startling contrast to the previous period before the financial crash, 1993–2005, when less than 2%, or some 10 million people, reported flat or falling real incomes.
> 
> According to the study, government transfers and lower personal tax rates have cushioned the effect of market forces in varying degrees in different countries, but an estimated quarter of the surveyed population is still receiving less income than they did previously. 
> 
> https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/14/up-to-70-per-cent-people-developed-countries-seen-income-stagnate
> 
> 
> 
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