Wage wars.

• Author: Sanchez, Julian
• Position: Data - Brief Article

John Kerry has repeatedly claimed that new jobs in the U.S. pay $9,000 less, on average, than those lost to offshore outsourcing. An ad put out by the pro-Democrat group MoveOn shows a fiftyish man who lost his job to a foreign worker. He has, according to the narration, finally found another job. As the man slips on a paper hat and strides into a burger joint, the announcer asks, "Is this what you worked your whole life for?"

But as analysts at the Annenberg Public Policy Center have noted, Kerry's figure is based on the average pay in industries where jobs are being gained and lost. That measure doesn't distinguish between an industry that's hiring managers or computer technicians while firing...