Incomes are down in real terms because we are competing with poor workers around the world. The dollar isn't the problem. The problem is the lost bargaining power of people who work for dollars.

So-called "sound money" has been replaced everywhere because it is too constricting. Money should be created by banks to fund activity that produces enough goods and services to absorb that money. The money supply must increase to meet productive capacity. If the increase in the money supply is constrained by how much yellow dirt we can find or steal, the system doesn't work.

Inflation of the sort the government fosters (2-3%, predictably) is the best kind of tax, because it doesn't kick in until there is enough money to absorb all the goods we can create or import. Where a sales tax depresses sales, modest inflation encourages sales. That's a good thing.

Those who can't keep up with predictable inflation have lost real bargaining power in the real world. That's on them or the politicians who caused the loss of bargaining power. If it weren't for inflation, those people's incomes would fall in nominal terms instead (or, in the case of fixed incomes, be smaller to begin with, because investments wouldn't include an inflation component in their return).