--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best available apples-to-apples…" description: "\"“The best available apples-to-apples comparison of inflation-adjusted earnings shows what the typical fully employed man earned back in the 1970s and w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/elizabeth-warren-879_falling-behind_the-best-available-apples-to-apples-comp_2743887.jpg" --- # The best available apples-to-apples comparison of… ![“The best available apples-to-apples comparison of inflation-adjusted earnings shows what the typical fully employed man earned back in the 1970s and what that same fully employed man earns today. The picture isn’t pretty. As the GDP has doubled and almost doubled again, as corporations have piled…” quote by Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/elizabeth-warren-879_falling-behind_the-best-available-apples-to-apples-comp_2743887.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/elizabeth-warren-879_falling-behind_the-best-available-apples-to-apples-comp_2743887.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/elizabeth-warren-879_falling-behind_the-best-available-apples-to-apples-comp_2743887.jpg) > ““The best available apples-to-apples comparison of inflation-adjusted earnings shows what the typical fully employed man earned back in the 1970s and what that same fully employed man earns today. The picture isn’t pretty. As the GDP has doubled and almost doubled again, as corporations have piled up record profits, as the country has gotten wealthier, and as the number of billionaires has exploded, the average man working full-time today earns about what the average man earned back in 1970. Nearly half a century has gone by, and the guy right in the middle of the pack is making about what his granddad did. The second punch that’s landed on families is expenses. If costs had stayed the same over the past few decades, families would be okay—or, at least, they would be in about the same position as they were thirty-five years ago. Not advancing but not falling behind, either. But that didn’t happen. Total costs are up, way up. True, families have cut back on some kinds of expenses. Today, the average family spends less on food (including eating out), less on clothing, less on appliances, and less on furniture than a comparable family did back in 1971. In other words, families have been pretty careful about their day-to-day spending, but it hasn’t saved them. The problem is that the other expenses—the big, fixed expenses—have shot through the roof and blown apart the family budget. Adjusted for inflation, families today spend more on transportation, more on housing, and more on health insurance. And for all those families with small children and no one at home during the day, the cost of childcare has doubled, doubled again, and doubled once more. Families have pinched pennies on groceries and clothing, but these big, recurring expenses have blown them right over a financial cliff.”” [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights that despite overall economic growth and rising corporate profits, average workers' real earnings have stagnated since the 1970s while major household expenses have surged, eroding middle‑class financial stability. **In simple terms:** Workers earn about the same as in 1970 while costs have risen dramatically. Key Takeaway Address wage stagnation and rising essential costs. Themes economic inequality inflation wage stagnation cost of living policy public finance Mood concerned urgent analytical Type economic policy explanatory When to use this quote - budget planning - policy advocacy - financial counseling - family budgeting - cost‑of‑living analysis Key Concepts real wages inflation-adjusted earnings fixed expenses housing healthcare childcare Questions to Reflect On - How can policy reduce the gap between stagnant wages and rising essential expenses? - What personal strategies can families use to mitigate fixed‑cost inflation? A Different Perspective Higher wages alone may not offset rising fixed costs without systemic reforms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Falling behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-behind/) ## Related quotes > [While inflation adjusted average hourly earnings rose 2.4% during Trump's first three years in office, they have declined 2.2% under Joe Biden. In short,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bessent/while-inflation-adjusted-average-hourly-earnings-rose-2-4-during/) [Scott Bessent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bessent/) > [Median wages of production workers, who comprise 80 percent of the workforce, haven't risen in 30 years, adjusted for inflation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/median-wages-of-production-workers-who-comprise-80-percent-of-the/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [Americans of all ages are earning less than they did two decades ago when adjusted for inflation. Yet they’re paying more in taxes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-black/americans-of-all-ages-are-earning-less-than-they-did-two-decades-ago/) Simon Black > [“It was getting so that you could not bury an Osage Indian at a cost of under $6,000”—a sum that, adjusted for inflation, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/it-was-getting-so-that-you-could-not-bury-an-osage-indian-at-a-cost/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [Her feelings she hides Her dreams she can't find She's losing her mind She's falling behind She can't find her place She's losing her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/her-feelings-she-hides-her-dreams-she-can-t-find-she-s-losing-her/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [Kids who don't play are not just at greater risk of falling behind academically, but also of becoming overweight or obese, failing to integrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-hammond/kids-who-don-t-play-are-not-just-at-greater-risk-of-falling-behind/) [Darell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darell-hammond/) > [As a progressive, I have a problem when any group is falling behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/as-a-progressive-i-have-a-problem-when-any-group-is-falling-behind/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [It's so hard to do anything that doesn't owe some kind of debt to what Stanley Kubrick did with music in movies. Inevitably, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-thomas-anderson/it-s-so-hard-to-do-anything-that-doesn-t-owe-some-kind-of-debt-to/) [Paul Thomas Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-thomas-anderson/) > [“If you don’t understand something clearly that you are being taught…speak up. If you feel something is confusing or you are unsure of exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-weisman/if-you-don-t-understand-something-clearly-that-you-are-being-taught/) [Loren Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-weisman/) > [Experts tell us that 90% of all brain development occurs by the age of five. If we don't begin thinking about education in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-ehrlich/experts-tell-us-that-90-of-all-brain-development-occurs-by-the-age-of/) [Bob Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-ehrlich/) > [“For God’s sake, Anders, your pacing is driving me wild,” Leigh said with exasperation. “Sit down.” Anders paused with surprise and turned to peer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/for-god-s-sake-anders-your-pacing-is-driving-me-wild-leigh-said-with/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [“Once I was beautiful. Jesus hair falling behind—burning blue like a storm crazy for destination. Now I borrow light like the moon...overexposed like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/db-cox/once-i-was-beautiful-jesus-hair-falling-behind-burning-blue-like-a/) DB Cox > [She said,''I'm so sorry you're going through all of this.'' You're gonna be fine, there's plenty of time. She said with the flick of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destroy-rebuild-until-god-shows/she-said-i-m-so-sorry-you-re-going-through-all-of-this-you-re-gonna/) Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows > [“Amy ran on sugar, caffeine, and pain pills, and would sacrifice an entire night of sleep to level up a character in one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/amy-ran-on-sugar-caffeine-and-pain-pills-and-would-sacrifice-an/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [To slacken the tempo...would mean falling behind. And those who fall behind get beaten...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/to-slacken-the-tempo-would-mean-falling-behind-and-those-who-fall/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) ## More by Elizabeth Warren > [Every time the U.S. government makes a low-cost loan to someone, it's investing in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/every-time-the-u-s-government-makes-a-low-cost-loan-to-someone-it-s/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [“For capitalism to work, we all need one another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/for-capitalism-to-work-we-all-need-one-another/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [“The single best predictor that a family would go bankrupt was if they had a child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-single-best-predictor-that-a-family-would-go-bankrupt-was-if-they/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [ I can remember riding in the car with \[my daughter\] Amelia, when she was very small, and we'd talk about money the same way… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/i-can-remember-riding-in-the-car-with-my-daughter-amelia-when-she-was/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [That's how we build the economy of the future. An economy with more jobs and less debt, we root it in fairness. We grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/that-s-how-we-build-the-economy-of-the-future-an-economy-with-more/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Homeowners refinance their loans when interest rates go down. Businesses refinance their loans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/homeowners-refinance-their-loans-when-interest-rates-go-down/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [There are a lot of things that people say about Hillary Clinton. But nobody says that she doesn't know how to throw a punch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/there-are-a-lot-of-things-that-people-say-about-hillary-clinton-but/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I don't think anyone went the polls and said, 'I am casting my vote to make sure that Wall Street has better chances to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/i-don-t-think-anyone-went-the-polls-and-said-i-am-casting-my-vote-to/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [With post offices and postal workers already on the ground, USPS could partner with banks to make a critical difference for millions of Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/with-post-offices-and-postal-workers-already-on-the-ground-usps-could/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [We should stop having a conversation about cutting Social Security a little bit or a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/we-should-stop-having-a-conversation-about-cutting-social-security-a/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > ['Middle class' used to be synonymous with secure, with steady, with boring, because middle-class people were people who were pretty much safe from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/middle-class-used-to-be-synonymous-with-secure-with-steady-with/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [You can put handcuffs on people who push the envelope. When they break the law, they deserve to have handcuffs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/you-can-put-handcuffs-on-people-who-push-the-envelope-when-they-break/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [The broken consumer credit market had to be repaired by making sure that consumers had the right information and could use it effectively. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-broken-consumer-credit-market-had-to-be-repaired-by-making-sure/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [“When you have no real power, go public—really public. The public is where the real power is. Those”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/when-you-have-no-real-power-go-public-really-public-the-public-is/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) [Explore all 342 Elizabeth Warren quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) ## More Falling behind quotes > [To slacken the tempo...would mean falling behind. And those who fall behind get beaten...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/to-slacken-the-tempo-would-mean-falling-behind-and-those-who-fall/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [“Amy ran on sugar, caffeine, and pain pills, and would sacrifice an entire night of sleep to level up a character in one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/amy-ran-on-sugar-caffeine-and-pain-pills-and-would-sacrifice-an/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [She said,''I'm so sorry you're going through all of this.'' You're gonna be fine, there's plenty of time. She said with the flick of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destroy-rebuild-until-god-shows/she-said-i-m-so-sorry-you-re-going-through-all-of-this-you-re-gonna/) Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows > [“Once I was beautiful. Jesus hair falling behind—burning blue like a storm crazy for destination. Now I borrow light like the moon...overexposed like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/db-cox/once-i-was-beautiful-jesus-hair-falling-behind-burning-blue-like-a/) DB Cox > [“For God’s sake, Anders, your pacing is driving me wild,” Leigh said with exasperation. “Sit down.” Anders paused with surprise and turned to peer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/for-god-s-sake-anders-your-pacing-is-driving-me-wild-leigh-said-with/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [Experts tell us that 90% of all brain development occurs by the age of five. If we don't begin thinking about education in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-ehrlich/experts-tell-us-that-90-of-all-brain-development-occurs-by-the-age-of/) [Bob Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-ehrlich/) > [“If you don’t understand something clearly that you are being taught…speak up. If you feel something is confusing or you are unsure of exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-weisman/if-you-don-t-understand-something-clearly-that-you-are-being-taught/) [Loren Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-weisman/) > [It's so hard to do anything that doesn't owe some kind of debt to what Stanley Kubrick did with music in movies. Inevitably, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-thomas-anderson/it-s-so-hard-to-do-anything-that-doesn-t-owe-some-kind-of-debt-to/) [Paul Thomas Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-thomas-anderson/) > [As a progressive, I have a problem when any group is falling behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/as-a-progressive-i-have-a-problem-when-any-group-is-falling-behind/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [Kids who don't play are not just at greater risk of falling behind academically, but also of becoming overweight or obese, failing to integrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-hammond/kids-who-don-t-play-are-not-just-at-greater-risk-of-falling-behind/) [Darell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darell-hammond/) > [Her feelings she hides Her dreams she can't find She's losing her mind She's falling behind She can't find her place She's losing her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/her-feelings-she-hides-her-dreams-she-can-t-find-she-s-losing-her/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [If we've been a little more successful than other people, is because we always realised that the school of life was always open, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-we-ve-been-a-little-more-successful-than-other-people-is-because/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“So you think it's funny That you keep calling me all of the time Everyday Oh honey Don't want to be following and falling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/so-you-think-it-s-funny-that-you-keep-calling-me-all-of-the-time/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [Too many families are falling behind and we need to fight tooth-and-nail to boost wages, expand access to affordable health care, and improve our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-beshear/too-many-families-are-falling-behind-and-we-need-to-fight-tooth-and/) [Andy Beshear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-beshear/) > [There are... two kinds of people: those who are changing and those who are setting themselves up to be victims of change. As the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-clemmer/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-those-who-are-changing-and-those-who/) Jim Clemmer [Browse all 37 Falling behind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-behind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The best available apples-to-apples comparison of inflation-adjusted earnings shows what the typical fully employed man earned back in the 1970s and what that same fully employed man earns today. The picture isn’t pretty. As the GDP has doubled and almost doubled again, as corporations have piled up record profits, as the country has gotten wealthier, and as the number of billionaires has exploded, the average man working full-time today earns about what the average man earned back in 1970. Nearly half a century has gone by, and the guy right in the middle of the pack is making about what his granddad did. The second punch that’s landed on families is expenses. If costs had stayed the same over the past few decades, families would be okay—or, at least, they would be in about the same position as they were thirty-five years ago. Not advancing but not falling behind, either. But that didn’t happen. Total costs are up, way up. True, families have cut back on some kinds of expenses. Today, the average family spends less on food (including eating out), less on clothing, less on appliances, and less on furniture than a comparable family did back in 1971. In other words, families have been pretty careful about their day-to-day spending, but it hasn’t saved them. The problem is that the other expenses—the big, fixed expenses—have shot through the roof and blown apart the family budget. Adjusted for inflation, families today spend more on transportation, more on housing, and more on health insurance. And for all those families with small children and no one at home during the day, the cost of childcare has doubled, doubled again, and doubled once more. Families have pinched pennies on groceries and clothing, but these big, recurring expenses have blown them right over a financial cliff.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Warren" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-best-available-apples-to-apples-comparison-of-inflation-adjusted/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Falling behind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-best-available-apples-to-apples-comparison-of-inflation-adjusted/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/elizabeth-warren-879_falling-behind_the-best-available-apples-to-apples-comp_2743887.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/elizabeth-warren-879_falling-behind_the-best-available-apples-to-apples-comp_2743887.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/elizabeth-warren-879_falling-behind_the-best-available-apples-to-apples-comp_2743887.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The best available apples-to-apples comparison of inflation-adjusted earnings shows what the typical fully…” — Elizabeth Warren", "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": "Elizabeth Warren", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The best available apples-to-apples comparison of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-best-available-apples-to-apples-comparison-of-inflation-adjusted/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-best-available-apples-to-apples-comparison-of-inflation-adjusted/#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 } } ] } ```