Everything seems to be going up in price, except wages.
Cheap foreign labor is holding down US wages.
I watched a CNN video today, and these are amazing facts, from a UC Davis study:
Adjusted for inflation, starting wages for engineers with a Masters Degree are down from 2000:
Computer Engineering, down 14%
Electrical Eng., down 9.4%
Computer Science, down 6.6%
What about construction, the booming field? In 1982 dollars, wages are down 1 cent in the last 40 years!
1965: $9.88/hr
2005: $9.87/hr
$1billion were saved in 2004 construction costs due to illegal alien hiring.
How does this bode for the “strong consumer”, the “strong economy”?
By the way, I e-mailed my recession topic to several family members, and one took me up on a debate. His first response to me was, “I don’t buy what you’re selling”. I responded with more data. Then he admitted the trade deficit was a problem. I responded with sending a link to a magazine article, and have not heard from him since!
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