PoliGraph: McFadden wage claim correct
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In his primary night victory speech, Republican Mike McFadden told a crowd of supporters that one reason he’s running for office is to enact policies that will improve the economy.
McFadden, who is running against Sen. Al Franken in the general election, said that Minnesotans feel like they’ve fallen behind.
“We have less money in our pocket because wages haven’t gone up in six years. But every expense has gone up, whether it be food, gasoline or energy – and now health care,” McFadden said.
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McFadden is correct, though his claim deserves political context.
The Evidence
McFadden appears to be talking about middle-and-lower-class Americans.
In an analysis conducted by the New York Times earlier this year, wages for most Americans have increased by only .3 percent since 2000.
So in that sense McFadden is correct, but not everyone is hurting.
“While the wealthiest Americans are outpacing many of their global peers, a New York Times analysis shows that across the lower- and middle-income tiers, citizens of other advanced countries have received considerably larger raises over the last three decades,” according to the paper.
It’s likely McFadden falls into the category of people who are outpacing the wealthy in other countries. McFadden, who is on leave from his job as CEO of financial management firm Lazard Middle Market, is worth between $15 million and $57 million.
And while Minnesota has regained all the jobs it lost during the most recent recession and the local economy is growing faster than it was prior to the recession, the Star Tribune reported earlier this year that wages for the average Minnesotan have hardly budged since 2007.
Meanwhile, some things we buy are getting more expensive. For instance, gasoline has become pricier since the mid-90s, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (though there is always a lot of fluctuation in price depending on the time of year).
It’s the same story with food, though it depends on the product. And health care costs have been on the rise for years, though there’s evidence that the rate of growth has slowed recently.
McFadden’s time frame of the six years is no coincidence – that’s precisely how long Franken has been in office.
Of course, stagnant wages and rising consumer costs have been a trend for far longer than that, and can’t be attributed directly to Franken’s policies.
The Verdict
McFadden is right that wages have been stagnant for most Americans and costs have been going up in recent years. However, it’s important to point out that this has been the case for longer than Franken has been in office.