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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8211.
Today's earnings figures represent better news on the wage
front -- long-awaited and much appreciated. And while it's too early to
celebrate, we can be cautiously optimistic about these signs of improvement.
After restarting the jobs machine and getting the nation's economic house in
order, President Clinton has begun to make progress on our third great economic
challenge: lifting the wages of ordinary Americans.
But remember: this is a long-term challenge. The typical
full-time American worker today earns about $479 per week -- more than a year
ago, but still about $20 a week less (adjusted for inflation) than the typical
worker earned fifteen years ago. The wage problem didn't emerge overnight; it
can't be turned around overnight.
And the current turnaround just begun remains fragile.
That's why this is precisely the wrong time to raise taxes on working families,
to stall investments in education and job training, to raid worker pensions, or
to let the minimum wage sink to a 40-year low. For today's positive
developments to endure, we've got to invest in working men and women, raise
their wages, and ensure that every working family has a fair shot to get ahead.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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