How lucky are today's workers?

According to Sully the economy is actually "lucrative for the big majority [of workers]."

He cites this Dave Leonhardt column for his optimism,

Between the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September and this June, the average weekly pay of rank-and-file workers (who make up 80 percent of the work force) remained stuck at about $612. Hourly pay rose a bit, but the increase was canceled out by a shrinking workweek. Since June — with the economy apparently starting to grow again, as Ben Bernanke noted on Tuesday — the workweek has grown and hourly pay growth has accelerated. Last month, average weekly pay rose to $618...

Let's unpack this a little.

Unemployment is rising at the same time that hours worked are increasing. Which means that those employed are working harder and longer for an extra $6 a week. You'll have to forgive workers in the real world for not applauding this development. They're still making just over $32,000 a year.

Working more for little to no reward in an environment where there is very little job security does not make our present circumstances "lucrative" for anyone much less the majority of workers.