Meanwhile in China, page-112

an excellent point thoroughly made. GA+

As all averages go, they take in the broader class of x (goods or wages) levelling out the rises y + z and the falls u + v.

With the rises in costs of foods balanced against the falls in relative non-consumables such as mobile phones, the prices of which are more geared to market ability to pay rather than COGS + tax + mark-up, the CPI has become meaningless in terms of a measurement of the cost of living.

So with wages, the wonderful pay rises of the executive class balance out the falling $ value of the labourer but excludes the job insecurity and hours available to earn a few $s. Neither does this include the cost of getting to work - which in Sydney has become a major expense with all the toll roads if you drive. If you're on an exec package its likely you've got a car, rego, insurance, fuel and tolls paid for by the co.

I don't hold this against the exec class, but grieve for the disadvantaged whose lives are made harder by the reduction in regulation which formerly ensured lower paid people at least had a decent expectation of a full working week.