(Archived document, may contain errors) April 19,1996 No. 97 WAGES, PROFITS9 AND INCOME: POLITICS VS. REALITY By Mark Wilson Rebecca Lukens Fellow in Labor Policy "On Labor Day 1995, the earnings of most American workers are either stuck in the mud or sinking. Profits are up. Paychecks are not." -Secretary Robert B. Reich, Labor Day Address, August 31, 1995. "The state of the Union is strong. Our economy is the healthiest it has been in three decades." -President Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 23, 1996 INTRODUCTION