Of course I can have it both ways. Both of the above items are true, after all.
Average national salaries have gone up. That's true.
Average purchasing power has gone down. That's also true.
Two different things. Both true. Let's not confuse them with each other. They are two different things.
Only one matters. Net income. People had very nice raises, percentage-wise, during the Carter years. But their purchasing power dropped like a rock. Yet you would only look at their raises, using the "logic" you have displayed to this point. It's plain to anyone without an agenda that you're full of it.