In the WORLD ALMANAC of 2000 it has a long list of US PRODUCTION WORKERS from 1969 until 1998 year by year. It says that in 1969 they had 37.7 weekly hours with hourly earnings of $3.04 and weekly earnings of $114.61 while in 1998 these figures were 34.6 hours, $12.77/hour, $441.84/week. BUT NOTE WHAT THEY OMIT: the number/percentage of people still working in 'production' which pays much better than service jobs. If they had this list as well you would see what the problem really is. It used to be that anyone could get a good-paying Production job. These people here in 1998 are just the few who havent been laid off (yet).

A GOOD RULE OF THUMB TO KNOW HOW MUCH OF THE ECONOMY IS GOOD FOR REGULAR PEOPLE IS TO GO BY THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE IN UNIONS: This is the REAL test of trickle-down: .... 1930..11.6% (Great Depression)..... 1935..13.2.....1940..26.2..(European War Sales)..... 1945..35.5..... 1950..31.5..... 1955..33.2..... 1960..31.4..... 1965..28.4..... 1970..27.3..... 1975..25.5..... 1980..21.9..... 1985..18.0..... 1986..17.5..... 1987..17.0..... 1988..16.8..... 1989..16.4..... 1990..16.1..... 1991..16.1..... 1992..15.8..... 1993..15.8..... 1994..15.5..... 1995..14.9..... 1996..14.5..... 1997..14.1..... 1998..13.9..... In other words, if you are someone who was born into a situation where you had to go out and work your way up to the middle-class you have seen the United States creep down into another Great Depression for your kind of person. 6-8-00 ........

GERMANY VERSUS THE USA: In 1975 both Germany and the USA paid $6.35 an hour to production workers. In 1990 Germany paid them $22.03 while Americans got $14.91- and those are the Americans who were not yet downsized. Then West Germany had to carry the ruined East German economy on its back. But even with that new load its in 1997: Germany $28.28, USA $18.24 (The FEW who havent been 'downsized). And everyone who comes here from Germany tells me they are shocked at how little paid vacation Americans get compared to them. They get many more weeks a year!!!!

US NATIONAL INCOME BY INDUSTRY: ...Manufacturing: 1960: 125.3 billions, 1998: 1168.7 billions, up about nine times. ...Service: 1960: 46.9 billions, 1998: 1624.9 billions, up about thirty-five times.