How inflation took a bite out of workers’ wages as they rose over the past decade [Video]

There’s a stark difference when 32-year-old Olivia Polk compares her life to how her mom’s looked at the same age.

In terms of owning a home and a car, or having a family, “I don’t have any of those things, and I don’t imagine that I will any time soon,” she said.

Until recently, Polk worked for a Halifax organization that provides affordable housing, saw herself as middle class and made well above minimum wage.

But despite sharing living expenses with her partner, she said they still live paycheque to paycheque and that her wages haven’t kept up with rising prices.

“No matter which way we spin it, it always feels like we’re … just kind of holding on until the next payday,” said Polk, who recently lost her job.

When prices rise faster than wages do, workers essentially experience a wage decrease, with their paycheques not going as far …