Jim Devine touches upon one of the problems I see as primary with all macro
indicators when he points out that even if the real wage is rising, the gap
between high and low income is widening.
The CPI and all the other macro indicators hide the differential
ability of different segments of the working class to afford a basic standard
of living. For instance, the real wage might be rising over all but women
make up 80% of those who receive minimum wage and, even with a rise in this
wage, this still leaves those women back in the early 70s as far as
purchasing power is concerned. The creation and constant use of macro
figures in economics is part and parcel of the equality myth in the USA: 'as
long as the real wage as a whole is rising, we all MUST be doing better'.
This belies the fact that a few are doing better and almost everyone else is
struggling to make ends meet. The continued reliance of economists on macro
figures is an outgrowth of the bogus objectivity of economics as a science.
By pretending that everyone is doing better because the real wage is rising
economists can then ignore the very real contradictions unequal actors face
in the market place.
maggie coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The opinions expressed in this message are not those held by the new leaders
of the alliance between bell atlantique and nynex.
