From Economic Snapshot:
The chart below shows growth in corporate profits and total labor compensation (the sum of all paychecks and employee benefits in the U.S. economy) over the last 12 quarters; measuring profit growth since the peak of the last recovery in the first quarter of 2001.*
These are ominous signs, suggesting a new march toward greater inequality in the American economy. Worse, the growth in profits combined with a drop in wage and salary incomes suggest that the recovery has a narrow base, with most American consumers only able to increase their purchasing power through debt. Wage growth is not just fair, it is also necessary for a more sustainable recovery.
*This recession/recovery period is also notable for being the first on record where corporate profits were higher in the trough quarter than in the peak quarter.
Source: National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
These are ominous signs, suggesting a new march toward greater inequality in the American economy. Worse, the growth in profits combined with a drop in wage and salary incomes suggest that the recovery has a narrow base, with most American consumers only able to increase their purchasing power through debt. Wage growth is not just fair, it is also necessary for a more sustainable recovery.
*This recession/recovery period is also notable for being the first on record where corporate profits were higher in the trough quarter than in the peak quarter.
Source: National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
Vote Bush! See how much lower you can get on that chart.
Billmon recently took the Washington Post to task for being all wrong in their economic analysis (Dumb as a Post). And today, apparently they figured it out.
On June 19 we wrote that wage increases had kept pace with inflation in the year to May, and criticized Sen. John F. Kerry for suggesting that wages had fallen behind. We were wrong and Mr. Kerry was right: Hourly wages for non-supervisory workers rose 2.2 percent, while the consumer price index rose 3.1 percent.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
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