Al-USA

The Deflation of the American Dream

Interesting article Mr. Martorana and good comments by the readers.

Regarding the "Deflation of the American Dream", I recall my review of 2008 census data where in 1967-1968 an average household made about $45k/year while in 2008 it was still only $55/year, both adjusted for inflation. That represents about +22% to +30% (doing this from memory so excuse the imprecise numbers) increase in inflation adjusted wages for a period spanning 2 generations but of course, inflation more eroded all of that wage increase, and then some.

I don't have the figures for inflation from 1967 to 2008, but from 1980 to 2008 inflation has increased +175%! Clearly, the deflation has been decades in the making and is well on its way to collapsing into a "black hole": a reference to a dying super massive star which deflates, collapses on itself, and creates a black hole.