Wages and Cost of Living

I grew up in the 1960s where we paid $0.18 for a gallon of gasoline, $0.15 for a hamburger, $1.25 for a six pack of beer, $0.25 for a pack of 20 cigarettes, and $0.25 for a movie ticket...

Obviously, have a century later (50-60 years), our cost of living is much, much higher and WAGES HAVE NOT grown at the same pace as the cost of goods and services has grown.

WHY?

Those who control the economy, business leaders, politicians, CEOs and the workers have not demanded wage/salary increases like they are demanding those increases now.

PROBLEM:

When wages grow, so too does benefits, and those increased expenses put the employer in a difficult situation...

• decrease profits
• raise prices
• layoff workers 

We have gotten ourselves (Americans that is to say) in a difficult situation where Americans are the highest paid workers in the entire world.

If we want LOW PRICES to keep our cost of living down, then we MUST NOT HIRE AMERICANS, we must ship business overseas and have the work done by workers who are not so expensive.

HOWEVER...

If we do that (to lower the cost of living), it hurts Americans because we are losing jobs.

SO...

What do you want?

Employed Americans and hirer cost of living

<OR>

Unemployed Americans and a lower cost of living???