Capitalism is a deflationary force. That means the market system drives prices of goods lower. For instance, since so called democratization of publishing after advent, accessibility, and speed of the world-wide web and new file formats, portable reading devices, and retailers for book publishers, the price of novels dropped astoundingly from over $20 for a hardcover to 99 cents for an e-book today. This price drop represents a 2,000 percent price decrease!
It should be straightforward authors derive pay from book sales and that it’s a function of price. It could be noted authors are evidently willing to work in this market system. Until 1997 British author J.K. Rowling wrote for free on welfare! All the while, according to Public Law 101-194 alone, since 1989 United States Congressmen receive an automatic pay increase.
Capitalism is a deflationary force but, after Public Law 101-194 passed, this minute in 1990 U.S. National Debt was $2.99 trillion. In 1990 a Senator charged the people of The United States just $98,400 per year to pass laws. Next year, in 1991, lawmaker salaries jumped to $125,100 per year. Then their salaries continued to increase over the next eighteen years to $174,000, representing inflation.
Less than two decades after Congress passed Public Law 101-194, by 2008 Americans had borrowed $10.1 trillion to pay for things like Congressional salaries. And since Congressmen enacted a law to automatically increase their own pay, by 2009 Americans owed their own government 338% more money.
Now, trending in the news, Congressmen demand a $4,500 pay increase. Although voting to not get their automatic pay increase from 2010 on, Congress voted to increase the amount Americans owe their federal government over this same time another 248% to $25.2 trillion!
Ever since U.S. Congress voted to enacted Public Law 101-194 which automatically increases a lawmaker’s salary every year the amount Americans owe to pay it increased a whopping 842%. But Capitalism is a deflationary force!