Wages are Declining - I Blame President Bush!

...except that these wages are in Canada. Oh what the heck, let's blame President Bush anyway. If we didn't, then we'd have to admit that global labor competition is driving wages down naturally and that would get in the way of hating President Bush.

Robert Samuelson's argument is so self-evident no politician can ever state it. A couple of weeks back, Statistics Canada reported that, after adjustment for inflation, Canadian wage-earners are earning less than in 1980. For example, in British Columbia the median wage-earner earns 11.3% less than a quarter-century ago.

Increased competition for jobs drives wages down. Increased competition for goods drives prices up. Reality is unpleasant sometimes.