Since wages have not kept up with inflation, it’s already factored in as inflation drives the total debt faster. Total debt rising without a corresponding rise in wages means an increase in interest and defaults in general.
Yes, that is correct for median wages within a time range.
what?
A total measured over the entire US economy without adjusting for a variety of factors including inflation and population change seems like exactly the kind of thing you would expect from a news headline. How about average or per capita?