I disagree! Wages have - for the most part - generally been proportionate to the cost of living. As my age indicates, I am a State Pensioner ... but I'm also in the fortunate position of being in receipt of a modest occupational pension.
However, this year, the current economic recession has meant I've had to forego my customary annual index-linked increase in the latter.

Yet Myrna and I still manage to get by well enough financially ... possibly because we don't incur the added expense involved in the upkeep of a car!
