"Your graph does not show a drop in the rate of increase - it shows that
real wages are lower now than they were in 1973."
Really? Let's take a look at what the author wrote. Again.
Average hourly earnings in private, nonagricultural business increased in real terms by about 16 percent during the past 40 years . . . .
Say, do you have any figures for paraplegics during this period? [hoot]
The increase from 1960 to about 1972 was approximately 25%, that gain was eroded in the period after 1972 which leaves a net gain of 16% over the full time period. Real wages are now lower than they were in 1972. Perfectly clear if you knew how to read your own graph.