: The gap between stagnant wages and rising productivity translated into record-breaking corporate profits.
is a collection of essays and a documentary film by Marxist economist Richard Wolff . The work argues that the 2008 financial crisis was not a freak accident caused by a few "bad apples" or lack of regulation, but rather the inevitable result of structural failures within the capitalist system itself that had been building since the 1970s. The Core Argument: The 1970s Turning Point Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Me...
: While worker productivity continued to climb, real wages flattened. : The gap between stagnant wages and rising
: Ironically, the very profits gained by keeping wages low were then lent back to the workers (via credit cards and mortgages) with interest, creating a "house of credit cards" that eventually collapsed in 2008. Why Regulation and Bailouts Fail The Core Argument: The 1970s Turning Point :
Wolff identifies the mid-1970s as a seismic shift in American economic history. For over a century prior, American workers' wages had risen alongside their productivity. However, starting in the 1970s, this relationship broke:
: To maintain their standard of living despite flat wages, American families worked more hours and turned to massive borrowing.
