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The Great Stagnation - http://www.amazon.com/Great-Stagnation-Low-Hanging-Eventually-ebook/dp/B004H0M8QS http://www.amazon.com/Great-Stagnation-Low-Hanging-Even

The Great Stagnation - http://www.amazon.com/Great-Stagnation-Low-Hanging-Eventually-ebook/dp/B004H0M8QS http://www.amazon.com/Great-Stagnation-Low-Hanging-Eventuall... We've picked all the low hanging fruit - in technology and resources. Our cars haven't really change much in 100 years. Same basic engine, just added computers (we did that in the _1970'_). We're only incrementally improving technology (cars with navigation). Our current innovations (Twitter, FB, Google) don't produce many jobs and in fact reduce number of jobs. People will spend the night on FB vs going out to dinner, a movie, etc. You don't need to go out to cure boredom/socialize. Also, Social websites don't produce much commercial activity (compared to say the automakers building Detroit into a first tier city in the last century). We're patenting one click check outs, but we haven't found a good (economical at scale) replacement for the major components of our economy - e.g. the internal combustion engine and fossil fuels. The US has has an abundance of cheap land an resources PLUS the country was lucky enough to grow up in the industrial revolution when technical innovation was relatively easy and world changing (compared to now where it's much more incremental). We're going to stagnate until someone (US,Chinese,Indian,other) makes some big leaps in alternative energy and other advanced technology. Web apps aren't going fix our economic problems (however useful they are).

SWtechie 15y ago
Speaking only to the car comments -- although they put in question the rest. Bull. There have been significant improvements to cars in just the last several years, and the 1970s (and before) were a complete disaster for cars. There has been great progress. Today's cars are way better than anything preceding them, beginning with build quality, through handling and braking, and ending with emissions. Not perfect, but vast improvements. Is there more to do? Sure. These things take time, and the progress may seem slow to many of us, but massive infrastructure changes cannot be accomplished quickly. Hey ... who is going to deny a poor person the desire for transportation, even if it is with a crappy old car. As much as we might want it to be faster, societal change is slow.
- suivix 15y ago
  Don't forget the incredible advances in safety in modern cars.

SWtechie 15y ago

Speaking only to the car comments -- although they put in question the rest. Bull. There have been significant improvements to cars in just the last several years, and the 1970s (and before) were a complete disaster for cars. There has been great progress. Today's cars are way better than anything preceding them, beginning with build quality, through handling and braking, and ending with emissions. Not perfect, but vast improvements. Is there more to do? Sure. These things take time, and the progress may seem slow to many of us, but massive infrastructure changes cannot be accomplished quickly. Hey ... who is going to deny a poor person the desire for transportation, even if it is with a crappy old car. As much as we might want it to be faster, societal change is slow.

suivix 15y ago
Don't forget the incredible advances in safety in modern cars.