4 ms·

The Great Stagnation

2 points by throw0101c 11mo ago

throw0101c 11mo ago
> It argues that the American economy has reached a historical technological plateau and the factors that drove economic growth for most of America's history are no longer present. These figurative "low-hanging fruit" include the cultivation of much free, previously unused land, technological breakthroughs in transport, refrigeration, electricity, mass communications, sanitation, and the growth of education. Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University, theorizes that these factors have contributed to stagnation in the median American wage since 1973.
throw0101c 11mo ago
This is a short (60pp) work, but a fuller treatment (780pp) of how all the low-hanging fruit in improving health and technology / efficiency has run its course is in: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_American_Growth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_American_... Since the 1970s we had computers go mainstream, and since the 1990s (Internet) connectivity, but according to the productivity numbers, those technologies ban been played by the mid-2000s: > "You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics."[2] * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_paradox
robtherobber 11mo ago
> He further argues that the failure to diagnose the trend has led to a degradation in political discourse since left and right leaning actors blame the policies of "the other side" and "what I like to call the 'honest middle' cannot be heard above the din." I disagree, there's no blaming on the other side since just one side has really been in charge and that side is comprised of both Dems & Republicans. Whilst I can understand that in the US some would deem Dems as a left-leaning actor - it has never been that. In effect, the US has always had a right-leaning government, oscillating further or closer from the centre.
- tippa123 11mo ago
  Agree with the last point. Especially when you look at it from a global perspective. It reminds of a discussion that in a lot of Western European countries, the Democratic Party would be considered on the right.

2 points by throw0101c 11mo ago

> It argues that the American economy has reached a historical technological plateau and the factors that drove economic growth for most of America's history are no longer present. These figurative "low-hanging fruit" include the cultivation of much free, previously unused land, technological breakthroughs in transport, refrigeration, electricity, mass communications, sanitation, and the growth of education. Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University, theorizes that these factors have contributed to stagnation in the median American wage since 1973.

throw0101c 11mo ago

This is a short (60pp) work, but a fuller treatment (780pp) of how all the low-hanging fruit in improving health and technology / efficiency has run its course is in: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_American_Growth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_American_... Since the 1970s we had computers go mainstream, and since the 1990s (Internet) connectivity, but according to the productivity numbers, those technologies ban been played by the mid-2000s: > "You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics."[2] * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_paradox

robtherobber 11mo ago

> He further argues that the failure to diagnose the trend has led to a degradation in political discourse since left and right leaning actors blame the policies of "the other side" and "what I like to call the 'honest middle' cannot be heard above the din." I disagree, there's no blaming on the other side since just one side has really been in charge and that side is comprised of both Dems & Republicans. Whilst I can understand that in the US some would deem Dems as a left-leaning actor - it has never been that. In effect, the US has always had a right-leaning government, oscillating further or closer from the centre.

tippa123 11mo ago
Agree with the last point. Especially when you look at it from a global perspective. It reminds of a discussion that in a lot of Western European countries, the Democratic Party would be considered on the right.