How much do Americans get paid?

Seems like a simple enough question. Just look at your paycheck. Add
them all up and that’s how much you are getting paid in a year. Make
sure to account for your spouse’s salary, and that’s how much an
American household makes.
The reality is murkier and more complicated. Most employed Americans
also receive a substantial benefits package, and that definitely
matters when we determine how Americans are getting compensated. After
all, a company that’s paying a worker $80,000 and a huge healthcare
plan plus dental is giving more for that worker than one who’s paying
$85,000 and doesn’t even let the employee take a vacation.

It especially matters when we’re considering income inequality, and
growth in wages for Average Americans. One of the critiques of the
rising income inequality theory (usually from the right?) is that our
usual income stats don’t account for the huge advances in health care
that workers are getting, which will close the income gap. And show
that American workers aren’t getting exploited by companies.

Is it true? Well, a recent study shows…partially? Judge for yourself.
The graph is shown below. The red line apparently includes fringe
benefits.







What strikes me about this graph:

-The 2000s really did show some increase in compensation. Not as much
as the 90s, but some. Apparently it was all sucked up by health care,
though. So, if you want to improve incomes, you have to tackle the
health care cost problem

-The late 1980s were not a good time economically at all. Median
incomes were stagnant, and productivity growth wasn’t very strong
either. Why was this? It’s a big disconnect from the general trend of
the post-1970s. Maybe those big deficits do matter after all…

-The 1990s retain their standout performance, relative to the 2000s
and the 1980s. However, they don’t look QUITE as good compared to the
2000s anymore.

-For the most part, compensation really does track productivity graph,
which is different from the theory that they are totally disjointed
now. The only big change is in the late 1970s, which opened up a huge
difference that was never closed. What does this say about the 1970s?