Powell has largely hued to Yellen's benchmark rate raising schedule, so I struggle to think of how she would have improved this situation.
The real central question to this article is buried halfway in and receives little coverage. Why are wages more or less stagnant when unemployment is hovering around 4%? Inflationary concerns would be more muted were wage gains outpacing inflationary pressure, but as it stands, that isn't presently the case. Possible that it's due to fewer entrepreneurial businesses being created as opposed to historical averages? Possible that it's due to decline in union membership? Possible also that productivity growth has lagged compared to past recoveries?
And really, from a policymaking perspective, we should be more interested in which sectors are experiencing wage growth in excess of inflation.
I would say that companies are blocking wage growth, mainly due to little yet innefectual unions and lack of worker right. With not as much disposable income as expected the consumer can’t support these new firms. Or we could blame the end of net neutrality, stifling investment by making startups online riskier to invest in.
