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Comment by throw0101a | Hacker News Reader

From 2018:

> Oppelaar's first trucking job, in 1977, paid $5 an hour — or $21.50 an hour in 2018 dollars, he said. That was soon bumped up to $30 an hour in today's dollars.

> But now, as a line-haul driver for XPO Logistics, one of the world's largest logistics companies, Oppelaar earns about just under $25 an hour, he told Business Insider.

* https://www.businessinsider.com/trucking-shortage-eld-mandat...

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Not discounting the possibility wages have declined. However, just comparing hourly rate in trucking is over-simplifying. Does the company cover any expenses? Does the driver own the cab? Is there a federal mandate on rest hours per day/week/month? And it is always misleading to compare wages "in today's dollars" as if every item and wage and asset inflates perfectly evenly.

At some level of detail you're right of course but I feel completely safe ignoring all that when we're talking about someone being paid $25/hr. It's objectively low. Is the employer paying the drivers' rent?

Does this particular guy have a clean driving record? Is he reliable? Here's a pretty well-known company stating they pay about $50k annually to 1st year drivers, with the potential for more than double that down the road. Walmart drivers average $87,500 annually. Of course, these companies won't even talk to you if you have a DUI or accidents, and then sure, your earning is going to be much lower.

https://schneiderjobs.com/truck-driving-jobs/experienced/tru...

https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2020/03/09/walmarts-h...

What really changed in those 40 years? He is still doing the same job, with the same effectiveness. It's not really unexpected that the $/hr would remain the same. Honestly I am more surprised that it correlates that well to inflation.

> What really changed in those 40 years?

Off the top of my head: lower rates of unionization.