Hours Worked in US and Real Wages

The quality of life for many people in the USA has been steadily declining since I was a kid in the late 1970s. Today, if you're not a professional worker, or a skilled tradesman life is pretty hard in spite of all the improvements in productivity, etc... over the time period. It's made even worse by predatory behavior of many institutions and also, seemingly, a loss of organizations to support average people and even a loss of familial knowledge about how to protect their own interests.

When I was a kid it was really common for local stores to have more of a 9-5 schedule, for example, so people who worked in retail or service jobs could have a life. Basically every store in my home town was closed on Sunday, too and had shorter weekend hours.

In the early 1970s, the United States started deregulating the banking system. Previously, banks were restricted geographically and were kept out of certain financial activities (like underwriting corporate securities) as a result of the Great Depression.

It seems, subsequently, the United States has been organized to reduce the share of the average person in the economy by bankers, corporations, and their politicians.