Recently Mark Perry and Don Boudreaux published an article in the Wall Street Journal challenging "The Myth of a Stagnant Middle Class." They point out that the middle class is better off than nominal measures of income might suggest, because "Household spending on food, housing, utilities, etc. has fallen from 53% of disposable income in 1950 to 32% today." This is exactly how economic progress works in a free society: it is not merely that wages go up, but that the same wages buy more as innovation drives down the cost of production.
The Economy of Illusions
The Economy of Illusions
The Economy of Illusions
Recently Mark Perry and Don Boudreaux published an article in the Wall Street Journal challenging "The Myth of a Stagnant Middle Class." They point out that the middle class is better off than nominal measures of income might suggest, because "Household spending on food, housing, utilities, etc. has fallen from 53% of disposable income in 1950 to 32% today." This is exactly how economic progress works in a free society: it is not merely that wages go up, but that the same wages buy more as innovation drives down the cost of production.