alt Hacker NewsWorking class typically rely solely on wages and have little to no wealth. So any purchasing power decrease is often referred to as a hidden tax on wages.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_Unite...
Competition as a sellers’ market drives wages up, like anything AI connected today. Buyers’ markets drive wages down - GFC, H1Bs.
Working class mortgages got obliterated after the GFC and never recovered.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WFRBSB50210
Mortgages are about 92% fixed rate (vs ARM).
https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2024/feb/which-hou...
Thanks for looking up the data.
> Working class typically rely solely on wages and have little to no wealth. So any purchasing power decrease is often referred to as a hidden tax on wages.
That's only true if wages are fixed. They typically aren't, especially when people move jobs.
Kevin Erdmann has some good writing about mortgages before and after the GFC.