AMERICAN WAGES, AMERICAN DEBT ... A 50 YEAR TREND THAT'S TIED TOGETHER, OR JUST COINCIDENCE?

Not coincidentally, during this period the amount of credit card debt and total household debt carried by middle class America soared ...

Credit Card Debt in America, 1965-2010: Source: St. Louis Federal Reserve.

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Household Debt in America, 1960-2010. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Question of the Day: Are these wage and debt dynamics tied together, or just coincidental?

I have a few thoughts on the topic here.

- Mark

FYI:  While GM has cut hourly pay significantly since the early 1960s, it's still better than Walmart's. Check it out here. Also, Robert Reich has some different numbers for GM and Walmart here. Whatever numbers you want to cite, the larger point remains: There's a race to the bottom going on in America, and the middle class is losing out, big time.