But where and when has there ever been this magical equilibrium?
In the real world people get paid whatever they can get away with, and some people can get away with more than others. Telecommunications execs can price gouge you and get a bonus for it.
This applies to the average Joe, too, by the nature of how averages work. (But might not apply to the median Joe.)
Yes, there's some pricing power for some people. And there's weird things like Baumol's cost disease. But those are second and higher order effects.
Exactly. And "we" after all is another abstraction. And "I" can eat what "you" sowed.
If corporations have record-high profits, while workers get stagnating salaries while housing prices raise, someone is going to realize what "we" entices after all.