I realize CPI is not specifically being discussed here – but this is another data point… CPI and alternate CPI (as it was calculated before 1990.)
On an anectdotal basis – my base salary (same employer) has gone up 20%… the bulk of that in two moves: one when I transfered to CA (fortunately, before the eliminated the pay differential) and one when I got a promotion. Those big jumps were offset with 3 years of NO increase (zero, zip, nada). That’s just base salary. Bonuses, 401k match, etc have also had negative and positive impacts on my real earnings.
Any increase I got was offset by my husband’s underemployment. We’re definitely pulling in less now than in 2006.[/quote]
One more anecdote to add to Scarlett’s and UCGal’s…
Since the LAUSD pay schedule was pulled up in the other thread, I thought it would be fun to see how it compares to one of the last ones I have.
From the 1998-1999 salary table for LAUSD (last one I have), a teacher with 10 years and 98+ units was paid $55,672/yr. From the 2009-2010 salary table for LAUSD, the same position paid $72,592/yr., for a 30% increase. The house I bought in 1998 for just under $120K, just recently sold again for just over $205K, for an increase of ~70% (again, a specific home with known prices in both time periods, in a hard-hit area, is UP 70% over that time), and this was in one of the hardest-hit areas in SD County, with price drops in the 50-60%+ range already baked in.
Medical insurance, groceries, gas, utilities, etc. are all UP by much more than 30% since then, so that’s one more very specific example (actually have specific pay for a specific position) of a worker who would be much worse off today than 10+ years ago. And that’s not even addressing the education costs for a teacher, which have gone up by much more than 30% over that time.
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One more anecdote…
Just talked to a long-time friend last night from L.A. who is dealing with a foreclosure. Both spouses are now working at literally half — or LESS — than what they were earning 5 years ago, with no better prospects on the horizon. Prices for basic needs have not dropped by 50% over that time.
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Additionally, jobs were MUCH easier to find 10 years ago than today, which should be factored into housing costs, etc.
Under no circumstances have I seen any evidence that people are better off today. Yes, maybe if you track that certain group over time, but you have to compare apples to apples. The bottom 50% of our society is far worse off today than the bottom 50% of our socieity was in 2000 and the years just before, IMHO.
