Nice work if you can get it

Paul Krugman had an interesting blog post on Christmas Day theorizing corporations may actually profit from a slack economy which holds down wages.  Corporate profits are booming, but most employees are terrified of losing their jobs.  Turnover at most companies is way down from the normal rate in a recovering economy because both workers and their bosses know there are three applicants for every job being offered.  Except for high tech jobs which require specialized skills, there is no dearth of workers for almost any job.  This leads to wage stagnation even as profits rise.  Krugman does not say, but probably assumes all of us know that wages are almost always the biggest expense for most corporations.  Holding down wages is one way to increase profits, even if demand is flat.  While he does not suggest there is actual collusion among CEOs to hold down wages, the collective decisions made by corporations have had the same effect.  As the middle class is ground down by decades of falling wages in real terms, will balance ever be restored in relationship between workers and capital?   It's a question with an answer most people will not like.