Most of America has not experienced stagnation. They have experienced a consistent increase in employment compensation and a consistent increase in consumption.
The only "stagnation" that has occurred has been a shift in compensation from taxable wages to untaxed non-wage benefits.
The fundamental problem is that with a drop in labor we will have fewer goods and services. No matter how you slice it, that's a drop in (real, not necessarily nominal) consumption.
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/ECICOM
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=qG0
The only "stagnation" that has occurred has been a shift in compensation from taxable wages to untaxed non-wage benefits.
The fundamental problem is that with a drop in labor we will have fewer goods and services. No matter how you slice it, that's a drop in (real, not necessarily nominal) consumption.