Wage Hikes Lag Behind Gains in Productivity
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“Some Economists Question Link Between Wages and Inflation” [Jan. 14] went a long way toward dispelling the bugaboo of wage inflation. The facts simply do not support the theory that wage increases lead to inflation.
Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan regularly raises the totem of wage inflation like a voodoo priest whenever he senses that--gasp--workers might actually get rewarded for their hard work. This thinking has pervaded the business mind-set for so long it has become gospel.
The simple fact is that workers are no longer rewarded for their hard work; the social contract has been broken. Wage gains closely matched productivity gains in the post-World War II era, creating the middle class, yet for the past quarter-century, productivity by workers has increased by nearly 50% but wages have gone up only about 10%. There is a reward gap.
A campaign I founded called Work=Fair (https://www.workfair.org) seeks to address this disparity.
JEFF SOFTLEY
Director, Work=Fair
West Hollywood
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