We are in the midst of a protracted wage slump, ... a troubling trend that is largely going unnoticed by policymakers.

It's been an animal that's been largely ignored and gone unnoticed over the years. It is a very secretive animal that has just disappeared quietly.

You have a lot of troubling questions ... You have some significant policy matters being determined in the midst of some very questionable activity involving a foreign government -- involving the very government that he is planning on visiting. So I don't think it's bad to stop and reassess that at this point,

This decline [in the jobless rate] is certainly the largest drop we've seen in recent months, so it does suggest a stronger labor market than we expected.

The problem isn't simply that families are facing higher prices, particularly at the pump. It's also that they're facing lower wages. If wages were keeping pace with inflation, the pinch wouldn't be as hard.

The job market is slowly tightening. We are wringing out the slack. But we're only six months into a process that could take a year and a half.