Workers without a college degree have seen a year-over-year inflation-adjusted wage increase of roughly 1.5%, while the overall national average for all private-sector employees reflects a 3.4% nominal increase in weekly earnings.
By educational attainment, full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school
diploma had median weekly earnings of $784, high school graduates (no college) had
earnings of $977, and those holding a bachelor's degree and higher had earnings of $1,763.
Among college graduates with advanced degrees (master's, professional, and doctoral
degrees), the highest earning 10 percent of male workers made $5,348 or more per week, and
their female counterparts made $3,499 or more.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdfApproximately 55% of the US civilian labor force does not possess a four-year college degree.
https://www.ccdaily.com/2025/09/datapoints-educational-attainment-in-the-u-s/
The annual salary for the Director of the National Economic Council is currently $195,200.00--or about $3,754.00 per week. Government ethics disclosures revealed that his total assets are worth at least $7.6 million.
The real-world economic impact of inflation is vastly different for lower-income earners who have to spend spend a much larger share of their money on non-negotiable basic necessities. And when you do things to make those basic necessities more expensive it really affects them in a much larger way.
It is also a good bet that the lower-income earner doesn't have a stock market portfolio like Hassett does. So far in 2026, a $7.6 million investment in the broad stock market would have earned between $866,400 and $950,000--or between $39,380.00 and 43,181.00 per week.
It is very easy for him to believe workers are just complaining for nothing. He doesn't even understand why they aren't grateful....
Maybe Hassett can, but we can't ignore that over 13% of cardholder balances are 90 or more days overdue, marking the highest delinquency levels since 2011. And, the U.S. personal savings rate dropped to roughly 4%, down from 6.2% in early 2024.
But by all means Kev, tell us how good things are out here....
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