Globalization has radically altered the bargaining power between labor and capital. In the United States, male real wages are substantially below their previous peaks for everyone except men with graduate degrees. New technologies are dramatically cutting the costs of producing almost everything. Micro-electronics is the most vivid example. But consider raw material prices.
Prices are universally near all-time historic lows.
In the short run, OPEC cut-backs can raise the price of oil, but in the long run, new technologies are going to be driving oil prices downward. Low unemployment rates no longer mean higher wage increases. In booms, manufacturing does not have to raise wages to get the labor it needs. The numbers seeking employment are much larger than the official unemployment statistics show. There are no general labor shortages despite an official unemployment rate now not far above 4 percent.