Has your income from your job actually increased?

[Subdivisions]

I was inspired to the question by this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3191512&mesg_id=3191512">Damn, are groceries going up where you live?

So, in conjunction, I was just curious to know if your salary or per-hour income from your weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly-paying job has increased right along with the cost of living and inflation.

If not, how do you budget for the the COLA increases and/or where do you get the extra funds to cover the increases in food and fuel costs?


Edited to add: Forgot to provide my answer: My situation is weird because I started a home-based business and my income is less but I save hundreds a week in fuel and incidental costs from commuting. However, I have a primary client who pays me weekly and a few piecemeal projects. My primary "employer" has actually conceded my request a few months ago for a raise in my weekly fee, agreeing to pay for a 33% increase.

[OwnedByFerrets]

1. I havent had a raise

in 5 yrs. Im just glad to have a job at this point.

[slackmaster]

2. FUCK no, I haven't seen a raise in over three years

:argh:

[purji]

3. we are just now making what we made in 1997 .

layoff and low paying jobs suck for my personal economy

[Xenotime]

46. Exactly. I was making WAY more money under Clinton that I ever did under *

[purji]

58. I always make more under a Dem.

when a repub gets in office I struggle to keep the house.
when a Dem is in charge I have EXTRA money that I can save.
We must make sure a Dem is Elected.

[purji]

59. sorry dupe

I guess thats one way to get my post count up.

[raccoon]

4. I haven't had a raise in a while. about a year, maybe longer. nt

[tridim]

5. I'm making less than half what I made in 1999, in the crappy IT industry. nt

[HCE SuiGeneris]

20. Was in IT until 2005 when TI (texas Instruments) laid me off again.

Been an interesting 3 years. Learned a lot, failed a couple of times in some ill-advised ventures, but have a couple of different projects that are paying the bills.

[notesdev]

6. COLA specifically excludes food and fuel

Which is why they screwed with the CPI calculation a dozen years ago. Now, the "new" CPI shows nice low inflation - i.e. nice low raises in what the government pays out - no matter how high food and fuel prices go.

[Subdivisions]

17. COLA is probably not the best choice of term. It is an acronym I

see all the time as a union member. Because I am semi-retired and no longer work in unionized construction trades, I am not a beneficiary of the COLA raises we normally get every year. But in my communications with fellow union members and with the Hall, seems like COLA are swallowed up by either having to reduce wages to maintain contractual agreements (read keep working), or the COLA raise is eaten by other contractural/organizational/educational/philanthropic considerations, or the COLA is just not enough to add up to anything substantial.

Unions have it tough in Texas just to keep members working for premium wages. Currently, our wage is ~$23 per hour. That's only an increase of $3.40 in 12 years.

[notesdev]

26. Not even enough to cover inflation

That "raise" represents a loss when adjusted for inflation. The primary thing that I see driving that cost are the millions of foreigners that get added to our labor pool every year.

The fundamental economic bottom line is that we produce a lot less than we consume, as is represented by our many trillions in debt, public and private. In this environment a fall of the purchasing power of the dollar was inevitable; it was just a matter of how much and when. Thanks to the rocket surgery teams in the White House and at the Federal Reserve, the fall is not merely a fall, but a disastrous collapse amidst the twinned implosions of the real estate and financial sectors.

I predict a lot of analysis of the Japanese economy over the next few years as the situation becomes deflationary. Very few people show understanding of just how serious a problem this is going to be. People need to start educating themselves about economics, we no longer have the luxury of going along with trends - we're entering an era when all those things that weren't supposed to be able to happen are happening.

We definitely need new blood in leadership. The relics of the Cold War don't have the mindset it's going to take to put America on a course appropriate for the 21st century. We've crossed the "bridge" - we're 8% through the century already.

[Kajsa]

7. Hell no!

Substitute teachers here haven't seen a pay raise in over 16 years!

Meanwhile, rents/mortgages have tripled-quadrupled as has gasoline.

Food prices have doubled since then.

Not good! :(

[Roxy66]

8. I got a big $.50 raise last month. $20.00 a week doesnt cover food and

gas increases. I went to my manager and he aggreed...but said money allotted for pay raises is minimal. He actually appoligized...

[Squatch]

9. Every year since I've started

Usually around 3% increase per year. :thumbsup:

[Autumn Colors]

10. I'm in a similar situation

Home-based business. I have two clients. The larger is about 2/3 of my income. The smaller is 1/3. I notified them that I needed to increase my rates. The smaller one, accepted with not a word. The larger produced about a dozen brochures from similar companies who charge less that I had been charging (without any increase). I had no choice but to keep my price the same or risk going out of business. I've been trying to find a third client for over a year now, but with competition who outsource to India and advances in technology competing with me, I've had no luck.

[Subdivisions]

27. I was very lucky to have been introduced to the business with

the help of a friend in Australia. He worked for a US solar panel manufacturer and wholesaler as their sole webmaster. He needed someone to write copy and I became that person.

I ended up getting in a twist with them over not being paid on time and called one of their biggest competitors who just happens to be a small family operation composed of just two people. They are finacially comfortable and would rather wheel-and-deal and enjoy their success and let me run their website. Luckily for me, it's a "green revolution" job and the increase I asked for is little effort for them. In fact, I'm kicking myself in the ass that I didn't ask for 50%. But It's all good.

[Mr. McD]

11. Gas prices have more then eaten up any raises I have recieved

I commute 80 miles a day round trip.

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. Job?

What the fuck is that? The desk in the corner of my spare bedroom may represent job creation but it sure as hell ain't a real job. Meanwhile, I keep collecting rejection letters. Been doing that for years now. Still doing that while trying to eek out a few bucks - and learn some new skills.

[sinkingfeeling]

13. Heck, no. We got a 'merit' raise a couple of years ago. And the state has cut the budget by almost

$5 million for the next year.

[RebelOne]

14. Nope, no raise in almost 1-1/2 years.

[tazkcmo]

15. Mine has decreased for the last 6 years

[Blue_In_AK]

16. Mine's been basically the same for several years now...

I get paid by the page, so if I work harder I make more money, but the court system hasn't given us a page-rate increase in the seven years I've been doing transcripts. In fact, a few years ago they lowered our rate by $.15. We're trying to negotiate a little bump up.

[El Pinko]

18. No, but I just got a new job that pays more!

Check will be going from $2000/mo. to $3500/mo. YAY!

I was with my last company for SEVEN YEARS, and I got a total of $1/hour in raises in that period.

Granted, it was an easy job - telecommuting, supposedly full-time but not requiring anywhere near 20 hrs. work per week, but still.

Now I'll have to go into an office and work 40 per week, but it will be nice to have the extra bread.

[trackfan]

19. I'm making exactly what I made in 2000.

I was unemployed in 2001-2, and took a job for a couple dollars less per hour than I had been making, and now have finally made it back to where I was 8 years ago. So in real dollars, I'm screwed.

[Sheets of Easter]

23. Creepy. That's my backstory word for word.

:D

[Sheets of Easter]

21. In my case, yes.

But, adjusted for inflation, I am probably at the same level I was eight years ago.

[Greyhound]

22. 90% loss over the last 7 years. n/t

[Hobo]

24. Yes I have

I have increased my salary 60% percent in the last 2 years. The caveat is I have had to relocate twice in the last 2 years, once to Denver and now to Memphis.

Hobo


:beer:

:toast:

[N4457S]

28. Yeah...

...my wife and I are making more than we've ever made before but we've also moved three times in fifteen years.

[dmallind]

31. Same here

Doubled in last eight years. Uo 40% in last three. Moved to third state in three years too.

Can everybody do the same? Nope. Should everybody try to or want to? Nope. But being relocatable certainly opens up a huge number of greater options.

[N4457S]

47. We've Moved...

...from Ohio to Dallas in 1995, Dallas to LA in 2003 and LA to the Bay Area this year. Two of them were paid for by the new employer.

Yes, we have great jobs but we don't have kids. We sacrificed to do this...more than I think anyone in our family understands.

[dmallind]

49. Hey at least you get exciting (if mostly expensive) cities

My last three have been in St Paul MN, Lincoln NE and Buffalo, NY. All 3 jhave lots of things to recommend them in different ways, but not exactly LA or SF. Course the housing prices have an edge here. You get world class food, culture, entertainment and climate. I get half an acre and 3000 sq ft for $230K. Be great if we could have both but hey ;)

I agree with your point in general, although it's tough to talk about sacrifices when we're doing better than most financially (if you're getting companiy paid relos too I'm making that assumption unless corrected). Yes obviously I realize it comes with its own challenges and trials - I'm on my sixth month of empty house except for a bed and a PC, 1000 miles from wife and dog for example - but the light at the end of the tunnel is usually there and visible in the end. I am no fan of the "poverty purity" drive I see on DU a lot but on the other hand I'm not going to complain too much about a few months of even fairly major inconvenience for me compared to a foreseeable future of economic hardship and uncertainty for many others.

Bottom line is we all make choices, and if you make the choice to be willing to follow the job market you usually end up better off, but at the expense of an unsettled and occasionally genuinely difficult life from time to time.

I think my next move will be, career wise, downwards, but focusing only on one of the few areas I'd like to live in for life.

[MercutioATC]

25. I'm not enough of a suck-up to get a merit raise at work.

It's worth the 1.6% bonus to do things my way.

[dawgman]

29. I may be in the minority but

my income has increased by 300% in the last five years not including bonuses. Of course that is not the "real" inflation adjusted number but still a sizable increase.

I wish more people were in my boat.

[Johonny]

30. No

While I've been pulling about a 3 % raise per year so I'm not beating the inflation rate. Also my "share" of my insurance cost keeps going up as well as other payroll taxes. So I'm clearly losing ground in this economy.

[onehandle]

32. Not since Bill Clinton left office. My increases % have been getting smaller every year. nt

[MotorCityMan]

33. I made less this year than last at the same job

No raise in two years. Cost of benefits went up considerably this year, salary stayed the same, although I am working more hours a week than before. No cost of living increase or anything.

Like a lot of people, I consider myself lucky to be working.

[Cresent City Kid]

34. It did...for 3 months

I got the largest raise I ever had, $2.50/hour, at the start of the year. I was doing surveying in San Antonio which slowed to a crawl at the end of last year. What I later learned was the the money for this raise came from company wide layoffs at my level that I managed to avoid through my initiative and hard work. By the end of March, it was my turn, so the raise was short lived.

[spinbaby]

35. 3% since 2000

Doesn't even pay for the increase in our health insurance.


:grr:

[Samurai_Writer]

36. I'm still not making as much as I was in 2001

My income dropped 33% after the dot-com/telecom bust in spring 2001. I'm now at 19% of the level I was in 2001. So, it's been steadily increasing, but I'll never see that kind of money again.

I got a whopping 3% raise this year -- the most that the company was allowing for us peons. I'm sure the CEO and upper management got way more than a 3% increase.

So, even with the raise, it's not keeping up with inflation. Not by a long shot.

[InkAddict]

37. I'm a PT wage-slave.

It's been five years and two employers since I even had a performance review.

[Carni]

38. Hell no! Our income is half of what it was! eom

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

39. Just Got Over A 12% Raise On Friday, So Yeah. But I Know I'm Lucky.

[Juche]

40. Seems like only the well off have had a raise

Keep in mind those figures are from before George Bush and his tax and economic policies. I'm sure its much worse now.

[HughBeaumont]

41. When you factor inflation, about $1000 (real dollars) in seven YEARS.

Meanwhile, the price on everything is skyrocketing. And people wonder why I'm living paycheck to paycheck.

[taught_me_patience]

42. My income has tripled in the last 5 years.

I feel very fortunate and lucky. However, my last pay raise was less than inflation (4%) and I'm pissed as hell about it.

[RB TexLa]

43. Yes, both our incomes have increased

[Freddie Stubbs]

44. Modest 6% increase last year

[Indenturedebtor]

45. Yes but only by switching jobs

I've had 5 jobs in 3 years... to climb the ladder heh. But our finances are a MESS. I have only had one vacation in those three years when we took our honeymoon. Vacation time resets when I switch companies bleh. The US is circling the drain.

[Rosemary2205]

48. I'm working 2 jobs and losing ground fast.

My husband no longer works and gets a few hundred a month of SSDI. My full time job nets about $1400 a month and I am averaging about $300 a month from my handmade notecards, invitations etc. In 2000 we netted about $4000 a month with both of us working, our loss of income is more due to the car accident than anything else. We are barely marginal and without the little bits of help we would not be making it even week to week - but the notecard business is quickly gaining steam. I have begun to attract quite a lot of small business people who want something very personal as invitations to their biggest customers for some event or another - and some wedding consultants have discovered me. So this summer may look much brighter financially.

((trying to be optimistic))

[Ganja Ninja]

50. Who knows how much longer I'll even have a job?

I doubt my boss will be handing out raises any time soon.

[AngryOldDem]

51. FUCK NO.

In fact, I'm working LONGER hours at the SAME pay rate. So you tell me. And it seems like every week my start time at that job is adjusted so that I'm coming in even earlier.

I freelance in addition to my "regular" job, and right now I make more freelancing -- one freelance project equals a month's pay. But, it's not always steady work so I really can't ditch one for the other. I've already made it known to my immediate supervisor (in a nice, diplomatic way, of course) that when I have freelance work that will take precedence -- if I can make it in on time, I will, but I will not compromise work that pays more (and from which I get more satisfaction) for a job that is basically shit and pays less.

And to answer the sidebar question, yes, groceries have gone up for me as well. But what am I going to do?

[Lorien]

52. ....

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


No, my income has decreased 70% since the Clinton years.

[orleans]

53. HA! i'm in a service business of sorts--

and if my client base dumps down i lose money--
but regardless i still have to buy groceries for my family and i still have to travel to job sites.

it's totally fucked.

[MadinMo]

54. 2.5% increase this year

Something tells me that the COLA is a lot higher than 2.5%. Still its better than a sharp stick in the eye.

[SoCalDem]

55. me no ( I don't work)..my husband.. yes..

his pay went up and his bonus went from $5K to $15K last year..we are happy campers.

[dixiegrrrrl]

56. you raise a good point on saving expenses =pay raise

We chose early retirement because we were in a rapidly increasing downward spiral of losing money working. Job hours had been cut, gas was rising, (3.00 gal in 2005 in Ca.) bridge tolls were rising , car would need replacement if we kept commuting, kids were moving out, so were no longer deductions.
In 2005 we crunched the numbers and realized we could afford to retire.
So we sold house, ( just squeaked under the bubble ) moved to a cheaper area, reduced our expenses by half with no problem.
The savings in monthly gas and the then-higher car insurance alone were huge.

No income taxes to pay anymore, not much driving, which is fine with us.
Overall we are doing better now than when we were working.
So far, anyhow......

[guitar man]

57. not really

My "employer provided" med insurance premium went up about $100 a month, which equals about 3.7% of my annual salary. I received a "raise" of 2.5%. Net loss this year of 1.2%, which is in effect, a pay cut :(

[XOKCowboy]

60. I had to quit my job to get a raise...

Our little company was sold to a big national company. The entrepreneur that started the company took a couple of million and walked away. Once we went "corporate" the focus on the customer became less important than the "bottom line".

I,and almost all of what used to be one of the best show crews in the country, finally went freelance and all of us are making much more than we did as employees. Yes we lost our health care insurance but toward the end the plan the company offered was expensive and very weak. We also now don't have to take the daily abuse from managers who are under pressure to cut costs at any price.

We did get one bit of good news. The GM (a total asshole that everyone hated) was fired summarily last week. Out in the cold with a terrible reputation in the industry. Karma is sweet sometimes.