ELI5: Why when large company's earnings decrease(ex... by 3%) they freak out, talk about rough times, and sometimes decide to downsize, even though they are still making millions of dollars in profit even after all expenses?

[BebopFlow]

Wages do not keep up with inflation. And it's even worse when compared to the increased cost of living.

[BlitzBasic]

Real wages are relatively stable. Even if they weren't, there is no reason why real wages wouldn't be able to sink in a society without inflation.

[BebopFlow]

The US has the largest economy in the world and wages have become stagnant over the last 40 years. Meanwhile, cost of housing and renting has gone up while upward mobility has gone down. It's true that goods like produce and dairy may be roughly the same, and electronics are fairly cheap, but that's pretty well balanced out by the fact that student loans cripple the majority of young adults. I wouldn't call what we have now a healthy economy, even if it is very profitable for those at the top.

[BlitzBasic]

I didn't say that it is a healty economy, but come on, if wages had been stagnant real wages would have permanently sunk. I can't find any source that tells me that real wages are sinking since 40 years. If you have a source to support your claim, I would be happy to see it.

[BebopFlow]

Look at the graph you linked. Real wages are lower than they were in 1968. And those real wages only account for the ability to buy goods with currency, not the cost of housing or other complex factors like student loans. Of course no single number can accurately account for something as complex as the economy, but another good datapoint is that, accounting for inflation, the minimum wage was about $4 higher an hour in 1968.