1975-1980 FF A+
1980-1985 FF D
1985-1990 FF A
1990-1995 FF D
1995-2000 C- A
2000-2005 F F
2005-2010 F FF
2010-2015 D B
Total five-year growth in wages and jobs graded thusly: 10% or more = A, 8%-9% = B, 7% = C, 6% = D, under 6% = F, decline =FF.
The Great Recession was a catastrophe for millions of people in the United States and many other countries, but it did add force to movements organizing for income equality and higher wages. Occupy Wall Street put economic inequality on the front page. Fast-food workers, many with union support, organized and demonstrated. Some states and cities raised their minimum wages, sometimes to levels that had once seemed unattainable. But there's been no raise in the federal minimum wage and no new permanent job programs, unless you consider Obamacare a job program. The Democrats missed an opportunity to fix lousy job markets. Too little courage, too much faith in business markets.
During the recession everyone talked about unemployment, but as the economy improved and unemployment fell, less was said about the need for job creation. It's true that Mr. Trump talks about saving jobs in the mines and factories and adding millions of infrastructure jobs, but he presents no realistic plans for any of this. He offers big handouts to rich people and big businesses. Did the Bush cuts of 2001 and 2003 deliver more jobs? Check the chart.
We are not close to full employment, despite what the experts say. The real unemployment rate is than twice the official rate. And we have not had sustained wage increases for a long time. Real hourly pay for the average employee is about where it was in 1973. The deck is stacked against employees in many ways and one way is that there are 20 million people who want a job or want to move from part-time to full-time work. So there's a labor surplus that saps employee bargaining power.
If the American people really want more and better jobs--and not just political theatre-- they need to push Congress to double the minimum wage right away and get behind government programs that directly create good jobs. One general job program has been introduced into the House by Representative John Conyers and it is also a project of the National Jobs for All Coalition. It's HR 1000, The Humphrey-Hawkins 21 st Century Full Employment and Training Act, which establishes a trust fund to create 6 million new jobs. [2] Progressives should also push to create a Department of Public Infrastructure. America's infrastructure got another D+ this year from the engineers.
We can have high-wage full employment. Here's what it might look like in ten years if we start fixing things now.
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