But corporate executives and the denizens of Wall Street prefer most workers to have low wages, in order to generate higher corporate profits, which translate into higher returns for shareholders and, directly and indirectly, for themselves. This is not a winning strategy over the long term because higher returns ultimately depend on more sales, which requires that the vast middle class have enough purchasing power to buy what can be produced. But from the limited viewpoint of the CEO of a single large firm, or of an investment banker or fund manager on Wall Street, all operating globally and
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