People collecting checks in massive numbers while workers are making less in real numbers is the truth. What we have now is many older people providing a good time for their children and grandchildren. And that with all of those retiree checks provided by an artificially rised stock market and a tax paying public. Crippled Ken would become the pu**ie of America if a collapse happened.It is because they have to work more to even try to keep up with the standard of living from 30 to 40 years ago. Also if things are so much better now why are people $1,000,000,000,000 in credit card debt now. Far and away the most even by % of income at any other time in this country?
America's standard of living is greater today that it was 40 years ago. People have more cars, live in larger homes, eat out more, have much greater variety in our nation's supermarkets, Walmarts, and now on line.
Pretending as if America is in a long term decline, and further, its because of a decline in Big Labor is absurd.
In actuality, the decline in Big Labor has allowed new methods of retailing, new products and services that we never could have invented if most employers had to kiss the ass of a Union Goon to make changes.
But that's always been the case, in reality. The 1892 Steel Strike, example given. The Tremendous Industrialist Henry C. Frick was innovating and marketing steel for high rise construction and other new products. Steel at the time was cutting edge technology, the Western PA and Eastern Ohio were the "silicon valley" of their age. But to implement the changes in production to get steel in high enough quantities and low enough price for high rise constructions, Big Labor had to give him a free hand.
They didn't want to, so Mr. Frick had no alternative but to crush them like a bug.
Modern mythology is that Frick made money because he paid low wages for long hours in steel. Reality is that Frick was just as much of a bastard to the employees as any employer , including those that failed. Frick succeeded because he was the Bezos of his era.