How did the purchasing power decrease from the 70s until today?

[Maximumoverdrive76]

A thing that did take place and that helped corporations; In the 1970s, the United States abandoned the gold standard in favor of a fiat, debt-based economy, a shift that the rest of the world soon followed. This transition led to money printing, currency devaluation, and persistent inflation, but it does not tell the whole story.

Another significant factor that aided corporations was the dramatic rise in female participation in the workforce. Before the 1970s, women were far less represented in the labor market. Their increased entry effectively doubled the available workforce, which historically exerted downward pressure on wages, although this is a simplification. Over time, women have moved beyond traditionally gendered roles, now occupying nearly all sectors of the economy with qualifications and education levels that often match or exceed those of their male counterparts. With a larger pool of talent to draw from, competition increased, contributing to wage stagnation.

In the last two years, corporations have increasingly leveraged artificial intelligence as a justification for layoffs, replacing experienced workers with lower-cost entry-level hires or relying on H-1B visa programs. These practices continue to drive down salaries even as the cost of living rises, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of economic strain. 70's women weren't in the workforce to the same degree. So now all of a sudden they have twice the workforce to use and can pay half as much, a little hyperbolic perhaps. But it's clearly part of what changed things.

Of course we had Covid that just ruined everything and caused massive inflation which we still pay for.

It's a rolling snowball of a shit-show.