Answer:
Increase; decreased.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 2015, the consumer price index (CPI) was 238 whereas it was about 100 in 1982. Suppose that one of your parents had a job that paid $28000 in 1982 and a job that paid $60,000 annually in 2015. Relative to 1982, we could say that your parents nominal income increased in 2015 and that your parents real income decreased.
The consumer price index (CPI) can be defined as an economic tool used for the measurement of changes in the weighted average of prices of a market basket of finished goods and services purchased by households such as health care, transportation, education, food etc.
Mathematically, CPI is calculated using this formula;
Where, x is the cost of market basket in given year.
y is the cost of market basket in base year.
Nominal wages is defined as a rate of pay employees receive unadjusted for inflation or without considering changes in prices. It is measured in monetary value such as dollars, pounds, cedis, yen, naira etc.
In this scenario, your parent's nominal income increased from $28000 to $60,000.
On the other hand, real wages is defined as a rate of pay employees receive adjusted for inflation or considering changes in prices.
Real wages = (nominal wages/CPI) * 100
In this scenario, we would multiply the real wage in 1982 by the ratio of the consumer price index (CPI);
Hence, $666,40 is greater than the $60,000 in 2015.
Also, note the CPI in 2015 should be 238 and not 238,000 as stated in the question.