The labor share of income in the US is at its lowest post-war level • Hacker News Board

Re: The labor share of income in the US is at its lowest post-war level

#161

Post by annodomini2019 » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:32 PM UTC

GlickWick wrote: post #135

beckon69 wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not OP. But respectfully disagree. Reads appropriate to me. "Related to or marked by Hysteria" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hysterical Hysteria being "behavior exhibiting overwhelming or unmanageable fear or emotional excess" which seems to be exactly what OP was trying to say.

The origin of the word is a bit darker than its meaning, unfortunately. It comes from the Greek word for Uterus. You can kinda fill in the blanks from there as to how it came to its modern meaning.

Let's add dumb, lame, sinister, grandfathered in while we're at it if we're litigating roots nobody thinks about on a day-to-day basis...

Re: The labor share of income in the US is at its lowest post-war level

#162

Post by saghm » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:32 PM UTC

MintPaw wrote: post #147

saghm wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know that you're not the one hanging around the "wrong people" to know better? You could just as easily be surrounding yourself with wealthy people as they could be with non-wealthy. Without data, it just sounds like "my social circle is more indicative of reality than yours". Maybe it is! But maybe not, so it's not particularly convincing

Data is the answer, it's just that so few people are willing to look at unbiased data. Although the start is asking a more measurable question.

What's the question I should be asking, and what data answers it? I'm genuinely asking

Re: The labor share of income in the US is at its lowest post-war level

#163

Post by digitaltrees » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:32 PM UTC

taeric wrote: post #108

dozerly wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have one of the worlds most prosperous economies, and half of the US is living in abject poverty while quality of life for everyone is decreasing.

I'm going to go on a limb and say half of the US is not living in abject poverty? Nor can I get behind the idea that quality of life for folks is on the down trend.

I own a Medicaid home care agency in 13 states. We serve low income families and our caregivers, who earn $12-18hr which is higher than minimum wage, absolutely struggle. We have created food banks and housing assistance because even working people are a few sick days or one car repair away from homelessness.

I would encourage you to go work with average Americans in average towns. The facts on the ground are stark and eroding.

Re: The labor share of income in the US is at its lowest post-war level

#164

Post by Avicebron » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:32 PM UTC

zer00eyz wrote: post #126

dozerly wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have one of the worlds most prosperous economies, and half of the US is living in abject poverty while quality of life for everyone is decreasing.

> half of the US is living in abject poverty while quality of life for everyone is decreasing. The 350 million Americans looking at the top of the US economy and crying need to turn around and take a look at what's behind them. There are something like 7 billion people behind them, worse off.

This isn't relevant to this discussion. You're welcome to go complain on a message board in Mumbai about wages in the US.

Re: The labor share of income in the US is at its lowest post-war level

#165

Post by nickff » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:33 PM UTC

panzagl wrote: post #129

nickff wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the commenter you replied to, but one thing to note is that capital gains tax (at least in the context of investments in corporate equities) is applied after corporate taxes. Profits and reinvested earnings are taxed as profits, and they're two of the key components to valuing an equity. As such, when comparing income tax and capital gains, you should add the impact of corporate taxes. Incidentally, corporate tax…

So if I buy and sell Pokeman cards I shouldn't have to pay any tax because WotC pays corporate taxes?

I am not saying that one party paying taxes means that no counter-party should. I am just saying that the impact of different structures should be accounted for.

Re: The labor share of income in the US is at its lowest post-war level

#166

Post by jzb » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:33 PM UTC

taeric wrote: post #108

dozerly wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have one of the worlds most prosperous economies, and half of the US is living in abject poverty while quality of life for everyone is decreasing.

I'm going to go on a limb and say half of the US is not living in abject poverty? Nor can I get behind the idea that quality of life for folks is on the down trend.

I think “abject poverty” is probably overstating the case a bit. I do think quality of life is trending downward given the fact that housing, food, gas, medical care costs are all increasing while wages are stagnant or worse.

Re: The labor share of income in the US is at its lowest post-war level

#167

Post by palmotea » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:34 PM UTC

GlickWick wrote: post #135

beckon69 wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not OP. But respectfully disagree. Reads appropriate to me. "Related to or marked by Hysteria" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hysterical Hysteria being "behavior exhibiting overwhelming or unmanageable fear or emotional excess" which seems to be exactly what OP was trying to say.

The origin of the word is a bit darker than its meaning, unfortunately. It comes from the Greek word for Uterus. You can kinda fill in the blanks from there as to how it came to its modern meaning.

> The origin of the word is a bit darker than its meaning, unfortunately.

We should all just stop speaking. The origin of too many words is problematic. Just think of how many were coined by racists and misogynists!

Re: The labor share of income in the US is at its lowest post-war level

#168

Post by stdgy » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:34 PM UTC

zer00eyz wrote: post #126

dozerly wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have one of the worlds most prosperous economies, and half of the US is living in abject poverty while quality of life for everyone is decreasing.

> half of the US is living in abject poverty while quality of life for everyone is decreasing. The 350 million Americans looking at the top of the US economy and crying need to turn around and take a look at what's behind them. There are something like 7 billion people behind them, worse off.

"Listen folks, it's no big deal if you can't afford rent or to purchase a house. Ignore my vacation homes in Aspen, Jackson Hole and Nantucket. Just think about how much better you have it than the people in Haiti and get back to work!"

Re: The labor share of income in the US is at its lowest post-war level

#169

Post by jmyeet » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:34 PM UTC

Now consider this against the rising productivity-pay gap that has been widening since teh 1970s [1].

The big picture here is increasing wealth inequality and that has been on steroids since the pandemic.

The only shocking part to me is how people continually and intentionally don't see it or, worse, think they'll be unaffected by it so don't care. You see this on HN where so many people seem to think they'll be Jeff Bezos one day.

But even if that's true, don't you want to live in a society where you don't need armed guards at your house and you don't need armed escorts to go anywhere? Because that's what we're heading towards. One of the problems with American society (in particular) being so car-centric is that it lets people insulate themselves from the rest of society more easily. In cities like NYC you're forced to see and deal with the less fortunate. You can't hide from it so easily.

We don't need trillionaires. We need to raise basic living standards so people have food and shelter and we don't need to separate society into slums and armored compounds.

[1]: https://www.epi.org/productivity-pay-gap/

Re: The labor share of income in the US is at its lowest post-war level

#170

Post by gegtik » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:35 PM UTC

shimman wrote: post #53

contagiousflow wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Source for this statistically?

There is but you have to ignore the lived reality that Americans are struggling to afford healthcare, housing, utilities, education, and food costs all while the ultra wealthy are demanding the public invests trillions into vaporware.

maybe the disconnect here is the claim was about 'income' which in isolation of living conditions, perhaps continues to rise and thus by the most narrow and useless definition, the OP is incorrect