Originally Posted by DAL 88 Driver

Hey PG,

I'm enjoying Thanksgiving with my family. Hope you are too!

I think the problem with your argument is your use of the "boom and bust" concept. Here are the definitions of "boom" and "bust" I found as they relate to business:

Boom - To grow, develop, or progress rapidly; flourish: "Business is booming."

Bust - A state of bankruptcy. A time or period of widespread financial depression.

I don't think a 2% pay cut would meet most people's understanding of a "bust", especially when you consider the actual definition of the term. Certainly, a 30% increase could be considered a "boom" under the right circumstances. However, as you point out, our buying power was in a slow, steady decline (even though actual rates were going up or remaining stagnant) in your chart. It could be argued that the 30% increase with C2K was simply a correction to get our profession back on track to where it should be. That's the way I see it. A 42% pay cut, loss of pension, and having thousands of jobs outsourced would I think most definitely be considered a huge "bust" in most people's view. But those were both anomalies, not a normal part of a cycle.

I would write more, but I'm going to enjoy Thanksgiving with my family. I hope everyone else here is able to do the same today! No matter how poorly our careers have gone in recent years, there is much more to life than our jobs. I hope everyone will spend the day focusing on all the many things in life we have to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!