Trump & Republicans Promised to Increase Wages, But Instead Wages Declined
June 14, 2018
Despite Trump and Republican promises, the massive tax breaks they gave to the rich and big corporations have not increased wages for workers. Instead, real wages have actually declined for most workers.
THEN:
Trump and Republicans promised the Trump tax would raise wages at least $4,000 a year on average.
Paul Ryan: “Tax Reform Will Raise Wages at Least $4,000 on Average”
Trump administration: “The new report from Hassett, out Monday morning, projects that reducing the corporate tax rate to 20 percent will result in a windfall for U.S. workers. He predicted average U.S. household income would increase at least $4,000 a year but could rise as much as $9,000 annually.”
NOW:
Real wages for most workers have actually declined since the passage of the Trump tax law, and since Trump took office.
Think Progress: “The federal government just admitted that workers are earning lower wages since the passage of the GOP tax cuts.”
Mother Jones: “The monthly Real Earnings Report from the BLS came out today, which gave everyone an excuse to note that hourly wages for production and nonsupervisory workers are down compared to a year ago. They’re also down compared to January 2017. Sad.”
While Americans face higher costs of living, including from rents and higher gas prices, wages have not kept up.
Bloomberg: “U.S. inflation accelerated in May to the fastest pace in more than six years, reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s outlook for gradual interest-rate hikes while eroding wage gains that remain relatively tepid despite an 18-year low in unemployment.”
Bloomberg: “A separate Labor Department report on Tuesday illustrated how higher prices are pinching wallets: average hourly wages, adjusted for inflation, were unchanged in May from a year earlier, even as nominal pay accelerated to a 2.7 percent annual gain from 2.6 percent in April. For production and nonsupervisory workers, real average hourly earnings fell 0.1 percent from a year earlier.”
MarketWatch: “Rents are still growing much faster than wages, even as growth cools slightly.”