One reason Robert gave for this upward trend was the flattening of wages relative to rising productivity, which began in the late 1970s. This sudden halt in wage growth is mainly due to “globalization” and “technology”. Machines were replacing workers and money was being invested more in the outside world than in the countryside. The iPhone example was one of the best examples of this problem as most of his students, including myself, were absolutely unaware of the impact of money made from these phones