Why don’t earnings reflect this tremendous growth of productivity? Wages depend on the bargaining power of the employee versus that of the employer. Unless an employee is a member of a union, has skills that enable him or her to easily find another job or has valuable personal connections, the power to negotiate over wages is limited. Fair pay becomes whatever an employer is willing to offer and a worker willing to accept.

There is currently no national consensus to protect and advance the well-being of Americans. Achieving such consensus is basic to moving forward and maybe, just maybe, the Occupiers will nudge us, including our corporate boards and shareholders, towards a shared national agenda that puts people at the top of our priorities.

Marianne Hill of Jackson, Miss., is an activist with a Ph.D., in economics.

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