Rising inflation has driven down real wages for American workers for the past year, giving the lie to the universal media narrative that a “recovery” is lifting wage levels. The October consumer price index (CPI) from the Labor Department was accompanied by a press release on real wages. For all wage and salary earners, they are down by −0.6% from October 2020 for the average hourly wage and by −1.6% for the average weekly earnings. But for “production and non-supervisory employees,” real wages are down by −0.9% for the year for the average hourly wage, and by a significant −1.9% from October 2020 for the average weekly wage.
This triggered President Biden’s odd statement that his “new priority” is “reversing [!] inflation,” and he wants regulators to cut off speculation and drive down energy prices – as if he were in China, where it would be done! His fear is that the latest inflation surge threatens the $2 trillion “family spending bill” he wants next week (the half which remains of the “Hyperinflation Act of 2021").
