The Great Wage Stagnation

Average U.S. wages have barely budged since the early '80s — and if you account for today's labor force being older and more college-educated, wage growth basically disappears. Economists have cycled through explanations: workers lacked technical skills, then couldn't compete with global labor, then lost the policies that once lifted paychecks, like strong unions and a meaningful minimum wage. The latest chapter is monopsony — the idea that as employers consolidate, people have fewer choices of where to work, and fewer places to land if they lose a job. Fix the market, and the paychecks follow.

Chapters:

00:00:45 Announcements

00:01:01  Retcon: Double Taxation and Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act

00:03:10 Terms & Conditions: Monopsony, Septel

00:07:07  Big Pilcrow: Why Aren’t Wages Growing?

00:40:37  Executive Orders: Reverse Billing, Leaked Chat Table Readings

00:42:49  Spiritual Sponsors: Dole Whip, Sad Songs, Being Recognized in the Wild

• Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com
• Follow us on Instagram at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy or TikTok at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy. Chat with other Optimists on Substack.
• Andy says look at the Optimist Economy YouTube channel⁠⁠. 
• Get that excellent hat at: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy
• Got economic anxieties, executive orders or spiritual sponsors? Send them to [email protected]