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That’s true, and it’s the point. The reality is that there American system sucks by some metrics, and yet by others which are real and not BS, the US economy c
by JackFr 3y ago
That’s true, and it’s the point.
The reality is that there American system sucks by some metrics, and yet by others which are real and not BS, the US economy crushes.
In the end human flourishing, and life satisfaction are more important than GDP, but at the same time GDP is real and it does matter.
- rayiner 3y agoI think the issue is more than the divergence between what nominal GDP suggests and what people feel demonstrates that nominal GDP is not a useful metric. It essentially measures your ability to buy things denominated in USD. Some of those things are important and others are peripheral. But the purchasing power of most of the important USD-denominated goods is already reflected in the PPP adjustment. So that leaves the peripheral stuff. So for example, the standard of living in South Korea is probably closer to the country's $45,000 PPP GDP per capita, than to its $35,000 nominal GDP per capita. It doesn't really make a difference that South Koreans can purchase fewer MacBooks and must instead buy Samsung products. It's similar to people who insist that folks in New York or San Francisco are better off than folks in Texas because of higher incomes, without adjusting for cost of living. If that was true, domestic net migration patterns wouldn't look the way they do. Yes, folks in New York or San Francisco can buy more MacBooks, but that's not a useful metric.
- jopsen 3y ago> at the same time GDP is real and it does matter. At least such a huge difference will have practical effects. Can we fund our welfare systems without growth? (Just imagine what we could do, if the budget was 2x)