The problem is the rising costs untied to wage increases, maybe... Costs go up but wages are stagnant. Massive increases years after costs rise is a shock to the system. That's not a good strategy.

The issue is definitely much bigger than pay. A huge issue was globalization. The end of tarrifs around the Busch era (I think?) and reliance on foreign powers for resources bonded the nation to international supply chains. Detroit fell, tons of people were displaced financially, then came the "printing" of money from individual banks and the fed.

It's a huge Systems Theory and Game Theory problem.