--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The 1970s were also the last decade in…" description: "\"“The 1970s were also the last decade in which the working class experienced meaningful wage growth.20”\" — Bruce Cannon Gibney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/bruce-cannon-gibney-13055_working-class_the-1970s-were-also-the-last-decade-in-w_1870307.jpg" --- # The 1970s were also the last decade in which the working… ![“The 1970s were also the last decade in which the working class experienced meaningful wage growth.20” quote by Bruce Cannon Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/bruce-cannon-gibney-13055_working-class_the-1970s-were-also-the-last-decade-in-w_1870307.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/bruce-cannon-gibney-13055_working-class_the-1970s-were-also-the-last-decade-in-w_1870307.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/bruce-cannon-gibney-13055_working-class_the-1970s-were-also-the-last-decade-in-w_1870307.jpg) > ““The 1970s were also the last decade in which the working class experienced meaningful wage growth.20”” [Bruce Cannon Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cannon-gibney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The 1970s marked the final era of significant wage gains for the working class. **In simple terms:** Wage growth for workers ended after the 1970s. Key Takeaway Recognize the shift in economic trends. Themes economics labor history inequality Mood analytical concerned Type explanatory historical When to use this quote - policy analysis - labor union strategy - financial planning - academic research Key Concepts wage stagnation policy change globalization Questions to Reflect On - What policies could revive working‑class earnings? - How does this historical trend affect today’s workers? A Different Perspective Future wage growth may be limited without structural reforms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Working class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/) ## Related quotes > [The 1970s, the decade of my teenage years, was a transitional period in American youth culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-allin-cornell/the-1970s-the-decade-of-my-teenage-years-was-a-transitional-period-in/) [Eric Allin Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-allin-cornell/) > [I think the 1970s will always be the decade for me. 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Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [In the 1950s and 1960s, an explosion of great corporate jobs, together with a restricted supply of labor, produced healthy wage growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-conard/in-the-1950s-and-1960s-an-explosion-of-great-corporate-jobs-together/) [Edward Conard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-conard/) > [One of the things I really worry about is that if you don't see middle class wage growth, if you don't see the economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-vance/one-of-the-things-i-really-worry-about-is-that-if-you-don-t-see/) [James Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-vance/) > [Increases in interest rates normally worsen inequality, at least partly by reducing employment and wage growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-epstein/increases-in-interest-rates-normally-worsen-inequality-at-least/) [Gerald Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-epstein/) > [It's a mistake to think that any increase in wages is inflationary and there is substantial room for non-inflationary wage growth, particularly at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-bernstein/it-s-a-mistake-to-think-that-any-increase-in-wages-is-inflationary/) [Jared Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-bernstein/) > [There are alarm bells warning that stagflation emerges if wage growth lags behind price hikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-kishida/there-are-alarm-bells-warning-that-stagflation-emerges-if-wage-growth/) [Fumio Kishida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-kishida/) > [The core of a virtuous economic cycle lies in wage growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-kishida/the-core-of-a-virtuous-economic-cycle-lies-in-wage-growth/) [Fumio Kishida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-kishida/) > [To advocate both for more immigration and for faster wage growth for the working and middle class is to work at cross-purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-conard/to-advocate-both-for-more-immigration-and-for-faster-wage-growth-for/) [Edward Conard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-conard/) > [Once, bit-fetching was the job mainly of children. 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So, we presented stories they could relate to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-ray-moore/back-in-the-1970s-it-was-mostly-all-black-audiences-coming-into-the/) [Rudy Ray Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-ray-moore/) > [As someone who came to New York in the 1970s, I was, like so many of my friends, a certified member of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/as-someone-who-came-to-new-york-in-the-1970s-i-was-like-so-many-of-my/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) ## More by Bruce Cannon Gibney > [“More than anything, Boomer influence is a story of sheer numbers. As of the early 1980s, when the Boomer revolution really kicked off, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/more-than-anything-boomer-influence-is-a-story-of-sheer-numbers-as-of/) [Bruce Cannon Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cannon-gibney/) > [“What establishes the Boomers as a political generation is that the Boomers’ overriding policy ambitions have been defined not in conventional terms like race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/what-establishes-the-boomers-as-a-political-generation-is-that-the/) [Bruce Cannon Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cannon-gibney/) > [“For those readers who are Boomers, or have parents or grandparents who are Boomers, it may be of small comfort that this book does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/for-those-readers-who-are-boomers-or-have-parents-or-grandparents-who/) [Bruce Cannon Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cannon-gibney/) > [“The sociopaths’ goal is to wring every last dollar from the system, and any investment that could not be fully realized within Boomer lifetimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/the-sociopaths-goal-is-to-wring-every-last-dollar-from-the-system-and/) [Bruce Cannon Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cannon-gibney/) > [“The pastoral Left, religious Right, and everywhere in between were afflicted by a resurgent sentimentality and desire for immediate gratification incompatible with the uncompromising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/the-pastoral-left-religious-right-and-everywhere-in-between-were/) [Bruce Cannon Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cannon-gibney/) > [“Once Boomers have been unseated, undoing their decades of mismanagement will require a significant social reorganization, especially of retirement and health-care benefits, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/once-boomers-have-been-unseated-undoing-their-decades-of/) [Bruce Cannon Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cannon-gibney/) > [“The point of this context is not to demand a return to the era of 90 percent taxation, but simply to remind that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/the-point-of-this-context-is-not-to-demand-a-return-to-the-era-of-90/) [Bruce Cannon Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cannon-gibney/) > [“The sociopathic society of consumption depends heavily on goods turned out by dismal sweatshops (e.g., Boomer Kathie Lee’s/Wal-Mart’s Dickensian workshops, Boomers Steve Jobs’/Tim Cook’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/the-sociopathic-society-of-consumption-depends-heavily-on-goods/) [Bruce Cannon Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cannon-gibney/) > [“Reagan (or, at least, the public’s version of him) was tailor-made for the sociopathic electorate. 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So, we presented stories they could relate to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-ray-moore/back-in-the-1970s-it-was-mostly-all-black-audiences-coming-into-the/) [Rudy Ray Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-ray-moore/) > [I'm a product of the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/i-m-a-product-of-the-1970s/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [Once, bit-fetching was the job mainly of children. In the 1970s, if I sat too long looking bored, I'd be dispatched to the shop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/once-bit-fetching-was-the-job-mainly-of-children-in-the-1970s-if-i/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [When I joined Ford, in the late 1970s, I felt strongly we could not forever be a huge user of natural resources without there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-joined-ford-in-the-late-1970s-i-felt-strongly-we-could-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wings was one of the first bands in the 1970s to do stadium tours, as well as Led Zeppelin. We had all the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denny-laine/wings-was-one-of-the-first-bands-in-the-1970s-to-do-stadium-tours-as/) [Denny Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denny-laine/) > [The whole idea of making 'James' was to make an action film in the style of the 1970s and '80s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-gopal-varma/the-whole-idea-of-making-james-was-to-make-an-action-film-in-the/) [Ram Gopal Varma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-gopal-varma/) > [All I know about 1970s New York City is that it's where I grew up, and you always have an umbilical connection to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/all-i-know-about-1970s-new-york-city-is-that-it-s-where-i-grew-up-and/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I have lived my whole life just outside Youngstown, Ohio. We watched the steel mills close and 50,000 jobs disappear in the late 1970s.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ryan/i-have-lived-my-whole-life-just-outside-youngstown-ohio-we-watched/) [Tim Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ryan/) > [When I was growing up in the projects in Philadelphia in the 1970s and 80s, Cadillac was the car to have. But I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-staley/when-i-was-growing-up-in-the-projects-in-philadelphia-in-the-1970s/) [Dawn Staley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-staley/) > [I don't really have a treasured possession, but I do love my family's proper old photo album. We all have hundreds of photos on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-walker/i-don-t-really-have-a-treasured-possession-but-i-do-love-my-family-s/) [Nicola Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-walker/) > [My family had been involved in gangs since the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cabral/my-family-had-been-involved-in-gangs-since-the-1970s/) [Richard Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cabral/) > [When I was in high school in the early 1970s, we knew we were running out of oil; we knew that easy sources were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/when-i-was-in-high-school-in-the-early-1970s-we-knew-we-were-running/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [When I was younger, I remember families like mine who had to deal with the disastrous policies of the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-scheer/when-i-was-younger-i-remember-families-like-mine-who-had-to-deal-with/) [Andrew Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-scheer/) Browse all 189 1970s quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The 1970s were also the last decade in which the working class experienced meaningful wage growth.20”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bruce Cannon Gibney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/the-1970s-were-also-the-last-decade-in-which-the-working-class/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "1970s" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/the-1970s-were-also-the-last-decade-in-which-the-working-class/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/bruce-cannon-gibney-13055_working-class_the-1970s-were-also-the-last-decade-in-w_1870307.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/bruce-cannon-gibney-13055_working-class_the-1970s-were-also-the-last-decade-in-w_1870307.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/bruce-cannon-gibney-13055_working-class_the-1970s-were-also-the-last-decade-in-w_1870307.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The 1970s were also the last decade in which the working class experienced meaningful wage growth.20” — Bruce Cannon Gibney", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bruce Cannon Gibney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cannon-gibney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The 1970s were also the last...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/the-1970s-were-also-the-last-decade-in-which-the-working-class/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/the-1970s-were-also-the-last-decade-in-which-the-working-class/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```