The Case For Prosperity

Did Al Gore's Defeat in 2000 Lead To Declining Wages?

Kevin Drum recently connected the dots.   Beginning in 2002, corporate profits have jumped at about the same rate that median earnings for American workers have sunk.

Why did this happen?  Drum focuses on corporations choosing profits over annual raises for employees, though no doubt he'd agree there's a constellation of contributing factors:

* the decline of unions

* the decline of the minimum wage, when adjusted for inflation

* the concerted propagandizing of the corporate agenda

* the enabling of monopolistic industry consolidation

* the default use of government's social safety net for under-paid labor

And what do these factors have in common?  The first four represent the "conservative" political agenda that is most often found in the Republican party.

As Drum makes clear (referencing a post by Dean Baker), since around the time of the 2000 election, which Al Gore arguably won, the average US worker has lost $4,000 in annual wages.

Though history can't be altered, the case for a progressive politics has only to look back at Gore's defeat, and point to a lesson learned.  In the form of a question, it's:

Does everyone want their $4,000 a year, or what?