They can. A basic Corolla LE starts at $23,900.
Manufactures sold compact cars out of necessity: to meet CAFE goals. Fuel economy requirements today are higher than what a non-hybrid compact car can achieve.
Most of the smaller cars have been discontinued in the states, it is difficult to sell a Toyota Yaris or Hyundai Accent for $22,000. The smaller vehicles cost slightly less to manufacture but have the same expenses after the sale from warranty repairs, recalls, lawsuits, buy-backs etc.
That’s only for ONE year of inflation. Wages are still way behind inflation. The URL below shows wages vs inflation for the past 5 years.
Having 50 years “on the ground” experience with these issues ….
Very true.- Especially in rural areas with no Public Transprtation, No Car means No Job.
False -. BLS data comes from responses by thousands of organizations BUT Large organizations with full time HR departments can report in days while Mid to Small organizations will take weeks or months to reply. Since Users don’t want to wait additional months for the full data, you get the Large organization first and moths later you get the full data with the Small and Mid size companies.
I agree. There really isn’t another source of unbiased information. Businesses participate because it allows them to see how the economy in general is doing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t share sources, just information. Competitors can’t gain an advantage by knowing directly how the competition is doing through this source. Note that while the BLS lead changed, no one else did. So far they continue to report unbiased data.
Yup!
That is the reason why BLS stats can–and almost always do–change to some extent a few months later, when additional info from smaller companies leads to revised stats.
Clearly over 5 years there have been losses. While wages have steadily increased at a very linear rate, inflation is the bigger factor. At least the trends over the last year have been in the positive direction.
The article linked below shows since 1964 average wages have kept pace with inflation. The purchasing power of those wages has not increased… but it hasn’t decreased either.
A buddy bought himself a brand new 1978 Monza for about $4500. In today’s money, that is $22,360. Pretty close to the cost of a new Corolla LE. And that Monza had a 4 cylinder, manual transmission, no power anything, no AC, no cruise and a ■■■■-basic AM/FM radio.
Today’s Corolla is MUCH better equipped and MUCH safer and will last MUCH longer… So @Nevada_545 is correct. There are basic low cost cars available but people are going deeper into debt choosing fancier cars, trucks and SUVs.
(edit.. I did not curse when writing about the radio but the censor blotted out the word I used)
Inflation is ALWAYS the biggest factor. If there wasn’t inflation, then you wouldn’t need a raise.
Buying power for upper middle class has risen, but lower and lower middle class it’s gotten lower. Wages is also only part of the equation. Benefits (mainly health benefits) buying power has drastically cost more. Premiums have increased greatly, and deductibles are higher for less coverage.
The middle class is shrinking, and the lower class is growing. People who worked in the tech industry over the past few decades saw the biggest growth and many rose up from middle class to upper class. The largest professional group of millionaires are Engineers.
The American Middle Class - Key Facts, Data and Trends Since 1970 | Pew Research Center
In addition to tech, a lot of folks who work in NYC’s financial sector have made tons of money, and that wealth enables them to live in NJ suburbs such as this:
Make good choices in your education… Or be able to learn new skills if your job field disappears.
#1 - many people don’t have the ability or opportunity to make different education choices.
#2 - If everyone did as you say “make better education choices” then who would be working in the lower income jobs.
#3 - The majority of people in the US work in unskilled labor jobs with almost zero opportunity for growth. There are MILLIONS of people working in the US who’s only raise have been when the minimum wage goes up.
#4 - Almost 80% of jobs in the US are service jobs which notoriously don’t pay well. Jobs in the US have switched from being almost 50% good paying manufacturing jobs in the 70’s to low paying service jobs now. And automation along with AI is shrinking manufacturing jobs even more.
#5 - If you want to grow the economy you need to grow the middle class. Since the 70’s it’s been the STEM jobs that have kept the middle class from shrinking even further then it has.
One of my biggest challenges as a HS Counselor was convincing students that they needed to obtain professional training and/or a college degree after HS graduation. We had a lot of top-notch vocational/technical programs offered free-of-charge at the county’s 5 vo-tech schools if someone wasn’t interested in college.
And yet, some students chose to not avail themselves of any post-HS training. In order to try to lighten the mood, I would sometimes joke with them that, without any type of career training, they would only be qualified to change the water in the goldfish bowls at Woolworths, but now even that job is gone.
#1 I disagree with that concept. That is a personal failure not an economic nor failure of ability. Even the most menial minimum wage job can grow into better jobs. Learning on the job is important to any advancement. Burger flipper to line supervisor to shift manager to store manager to regional manager. McDonalds will pay for your education. So will WalMart. So will Amazon and all 3 give benefits. Amazon pays quite a bit more than minimum wage and offers benrfits on day 1.
#2 The people that would be working in minimum wage jobs would be those without the ability or opportunity for higher education. But as I commented in #1, there are always ways to grow the job, education and income. And studies show that many that start in the lowest income tier do not stay there their whole lives.
#3 50% work in unskilled jobs… but back to #1, opportunities are available to advance. And only 869,000 workers are at minimum wage. The report below shows stronger wage gains in the 10th and 20th percentiles. More than those in the upper percentiles
https://www.epi.org/publication/strong-wage-growth-for-low-wage-workers-bucks-the-historic-trend/
#4 Yes, 50% of the jobs in the US are service jobs. I’d argue that they can pay well to very well. Doctors, bankers, lawyers, investment advisors, and consulting engineers are all service jobs. Not all service jobs are burger flippers and bartenders.
#5 And I totally agree that we should grow the middle class, however you would define that range. And my first reply to you started with STEM jobs!
Those graduates becoming electricians, plumbers, heavy equipment operator and more are out earning their college educated counterparts that took degrees with no market value. And apparently in NJ, they graduate with no education debt!
Where? Show me. The US is mostly service unskilled jobs with almost zero opportunity for growth. And a high percentage of those jobs are part time with no benefits. I wouldn’t call a department manager at Walmart a growth job. At best you’re making $5 more than the people in your department.
No. Over 50% are UNSKILLED labor jobs. I wouldn’t put a Doctor or Lawyer in the unskilled category.
Your numbers don’t add up.
Hmmm. Yeah sure the clerk at the store or gas station is not doing very well. And the low level white collar also. But while no one was looking,the trades are doing very well. Our HVAC guy showed up for annual service but brought a young trainee along. We talked about it dome and how strained they were with not being able to fill their staff complement. Love their job, paid very well, but just in short supply. Even the repair shop I use complained about having to schedule two weeks out because he couldn’t hire anyone. Lots of opportunities out there at high wages for those willing to train a little and work with tools and hands.
As far as the BLS though, all kinds of excuses can be made for their inaccurate reports that are later revised, but somehow not long ago they reported over 900,000 more jobs created than actual. How did that happen? Not likely companies reported creating more jobs than they actually created. Why would they? So yeah mayb3 the best we have and they try but take the results for what they actually are.
Trades are doing excellent and very short supply. Again, those jobs are only a fraction of all unskilled jobs. If we filled every trade job available with the people from unskilled labor pool, the unskilled labor pool would still be well over 60% of all jobs.
Many people try college, but wash out for various reasons . . . I tried it for a few years and I couldn’t hack it
Many people simply don’t . . . and never will have, inspite of training and trying . . . the various skills to be supervisor, manager, etc
Some people have “invisible” disabilities that make it very unlikely they’ll ever be “running the show” . . . I personally know a LOT of people that fall into this category. Many of them have advanced degrees from good universities, but they just can’t put it all together, so to speak. They’ve tried, but it’s apparently not in the cards
The trades are skilled not unskilled. You don’t move a store clerk into a refrigeration job or cnc factory job without training. Same with carpenters. Just because you can use a saw and a nail gun doesn’t mean you are a carpenter.
Well, it really depends to a great extent on the degree that someone chose to pursue. A major in Art History or in Journalism isn’t likely to earn someone anywhere near as much as an experienced Electrician or Plumber can make. The son of one of my former colleagues is just beginning his career as an Electrician, and w/in a few years he will surely be making a lot more than his mother did after 40 years in the field of education.
On the other hand, an attorney can earn an incredibly high salary (although many do not), as can an MD, or a DMD, or a DVM. My Veterinarian is a former counselee, and he surely earns a lot more than most of my former counselees who went into Law, or Medicine, or Dentistry.
Perhaps the wealthiest one of all is a former counselee who owns a large funeral home. Now there’s a sobering thought.
I agree they are. I should have said - the number of people in the trades are just a fraction of the number people of the unskilled labor force. If we filled every trade position from people in the unskilled labor workers the unskilled labor workers would still be over 50%.