Fact Checker - Trump's claim that 'wages are now, for the first time in many years, rising'

[DonViejo]

By Glenn Kessler February 7 at 3:00 AM Email the author

“Something that I’ve been talking about for two years — campaigning, and everyone said, ‘You’ll never do it’ — after years of wage stagnation, wages — so what happened two days ago and a month ago — wages are now, for the first time in many years, rising. In fact, more companies are pursuing pay increases right now than at any time in the last long period of time — they actually say, ’in the 21st century.’ Can you imagine that? It’s amazing what people with some good ideas can do. It’s amazing what we’ve all done together.”

— President Trump, remarks during a speech in Cincinnati, Feb. 5, 2018

-snip-

The Facts

One thing that’s confusing in this conversation is that there are different metrics available: hourly wages, weekly wages, nominal wage growth, real wage growth and so forth. That allows politicians to pick and choose the statistic that puts their policies in the best light.

Most economists tend to cite hourly wages because weekly wages combines two variables — hourly earnings and weekly hours — and thus can be affected by how many hours people decide to work.

But there is little dispute among economists that wage growth — after being essentially being flat for years — started to pick up again in 2014, after reaching a post-Great Recession low. In other words, Trump is simply blowing smoke when he claims that when he was campaigning that people thought it was impossible for wages to rise again. Wages were already increasing, though the increases were lower than what would be expected in a mature recovery and the impact was uneven, as shown by this chart from the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution.

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The Pinocchio Test

To sum up, the president made a number of outlandish claims about increased wages. He suggests they have been stagnant until recently; actually, they increased starting in 2014 but for many workers were stagnant in 2017, the president’s first year in office. There was an apparent increase in the January data, but the ultimate impact after inflation remains to be seen. Moreover, as has been the case in the past, most workers did not experience the gain that Trump is touting.

The president earns Four Pinocchios.

Four Pinocchios



Full article
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/02/07/president-trumps-claim-that-wages-are-now-for-the-first-time-in-many-years-rising

[Arkansas Granny]

1. What, you mean he lied? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.

Actually, I'd be shocked to find out that he had finally told the truth.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Uh, also starting on Jan 1, 2018, higher minimum wage laws went into

affect in 20 states. Many were increments towards $15 an hour.

[louis-t]

4. Which every Republican voted against.

[Timewas]

3. A local trucking company

Had to raise their pay scales in order for the drivers to stay even after the great tax scam...

[Initech]

5. Thanks Obama!