HANSEN: So wages have not kept up with those price hikes?
GEEWAX: Its really remarkable how slow the wage growth is been. Historically, wages and prices move more or less together; workers get cost of living adjustments to keep up with prices. But that just hasnt been happening lately. The Labor Department said that in March, average weekly earnings amounted to $784.44. And, Liane, that was not one single penny more than the previous month. So it makes it pretty tough for people to keep up with their bills.
Lets say that youre the average person and youre trying to fill up your gas tank - thats 12 gallons of gas, thats pretty average. That costs you this year $40 a month more than it was costing last year ago. And this is happening with a lot of things: beef, milk, vegetables, butter, fruit - theyre all a lot higher in recent months.
HANSEN: Is everything getting more expensive?
GEEWAX: There really are some things that are cheaper. Home prices are still falling. And, you know, technology just gets cheaper all the time. So smartphone prices are down. But you dont really buy a house or even a phone all that often, but you do buy gasoline and milk all the time. So workers out there are feeling the squeeze of stuck wages and the higher prices.
HANSEN: So whats the problem? I mean cant companies afford to give raises?
GEEWAX: Well, actually corporate profits have been terrific. In the fourth quarter of last year, corporate profits - or at least those that are measured by the SP 500 Index - they were up 31 percent. And this week, well be getting a lot of reports on first quarter earnings and pretty much everybody is expecting them to be healthy too.
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