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From the time Joe Biden was a toddler until his mid-30s, wages in the country grew, and the wealth created by growth in the economy was shared by everyone. But by the time Biden hit 40, everything had begun to change. The incomes of those at the top grew strongly, while the wages of middle-class and poor people hit a wall. Labor’s power decreased, and monopoly power increased. It became harder to organize workers, harder to start new businesses, and easier for capital to organize. It was the early 1980s, and Ronald Reagan was president.1