Really? Success stories have been on the downhill slide for nearly 80 years? Do you really want to argue this point when the percentage of people who make over $100k/yr (inflation adjusted) tripled since 1967? What do you reckon that looks like if we push back to the 1920's?
Remember this is HOUSEHOLD and not INDIVIDUAL. Which percentile do you reckon is more likely to have more than one person working?
What time frame are we talking about?
My reference was to when people coming here did so with the expectation that they would leave "the old country" behind and start a new life. They came, they worked their butts off, they learned a new language, and strove to fit in. They started with almost nothing and in a dearth of regulations, were able to open stores and build businesses. I know my grandfather opened a small store, built it up, saved his money (he actually owned a rental property in later years that he called the "dime house". Wanna guess how it got that name?) and even when his store burned to the ground, he picked himself up, went to work for a family member in a haberdashery, and started over... opened another store after that. My mother has spoken of many nights that her parents worked late there, where she would go to the store and do her homework there, go home late to eat supper and go to bed, then back to school the next day. She was born in the late 1920s, so we're probably talking about the 1910s to 1940 or so, figuring up to 20 yrs before she was born, and up to maybe fifth grade or so. I don't remember precisely, but I believe he had employees there also. Too much regulation to do something like that today, and too little ROI to save for a "dime house". My point is that people stood up for themselves and set a value on their work. Employers did the same; if they needed employees, they better offer something to incentivize someone to come work for them over their competition. People didn't need government telling them what their work was worth.
Blessings,
Bill
