Wages and Benefit bullshit

[edhopper]

David Brooks in his NY Times column today points out that "Wages and Benefits" have risen for all workers. This is the new Conservative con. Yes it's true, but only because health care cost have risen so much that Employers are paying much more for the same benefits. So if your paid the same wage as you were 5 years ago, but the price of your "benefits" have doubled, your "pay package" is up. No more money in your pocket, but you aren't lagging behind.
Of course who has done nothing to curb the rise in health cost, and stopped the Clinton's from trying to do something.

[Sherman A1]

1. Yes, but median wage has dropped in most states

there was a thread a couple of days ago based upon a report with a nice map from the Detroit Free Press.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Yes, look around for the right aggregation to paint a rosy picture.

Good catch. I hope other columnists and LTTE writers call him on it too.

[edhopper]

3. I'm hoping

Krugman resonds. And makes Bobo look like the fool he is.

[edhopper]

4. I wrote this to Krugman;

Please comment on David Brooks' column today. To combine wages and benefits (ie. healt costs) is just lying with statistics. Wages are what you take home in your paycheck. Your employer paying double for the same benefits you got 10 years ago is not a raise.

[havocmom]

5. If the numbers take top executive pay/perks into the formula...

they have gone up. Pay at the top skewers the numbers BIG TIME.

[edhopper]

6. Absolutely

100 people in a room. Bill Gates walks in. The average income just went up 1000%.