Wage Cuts Deepen offers a reevaluation of the conventional wisdom surrounding wage policies during the Great Depression, scrutinizing the impact of widespread wage reductions on the U.S. economy in the 1930s. Challenging the notion that wage cuts alleviate economic hardship, the book argues that such measures may have inadvertently exacerbated the crisis by diminishing aggregate demand and consumer spending. Initially, the book establishes the economic landscape leading up to the 1929 stock market crash before methodically documenting the scope and distribution of wage cuts across various industries. The book employs econometric analysis and historical data to investigate how these wage cuts influenced consumer spending, investment, and overall economic activity. Notably, the analysis suggests that wage cuts, while intended to reduce costs, may have deepened the economic contraction by reducing demand. By drawing upon government statistics, corporate records, and previously unexamined labor union archives, the book provides a nuanced understanding of the era's labor economics and macroeconomic effects, which offers valuable insights for understanding economic crises and policy implications.
