Wage stagnation <i>would</i> be expressed in constant (inflation-adjusted) dollars, but it&#x27;s also quite possible that not all products are subject to the same rates of inlfation.<p>Energy, food, and housing costs have increased. Electronics, <i>especially</i> on a capabilities-based scale, have become profoundly <i>less</i> expensive, though when factored into the end-use impacts (communications, information, entertainment), the cost reductions are far less substantial.<p>Healthcare is another area in which exceptional inflation has lead to only modest improvements in overall outcomes, particularly life expectancy for those <i>already</i> receiving good results: white females and males. Much of the improvement in health outcomes in the US since 1970 has been focused on bringing <i>minority</i> populations&#x27; standard of care and health closer to that of privileged majority populations. Not that this isn&#x27;t a good thing, but it&#x27;s different from saying that the _overall_ improvements in delivery have been evenly distributed.<p>How to lie with statistics and all that.