8 ms·

The economy can get better while life gets worse for most people. After all, an economy where 95% of the work was done by enslaved people might produce amazing

The economy can get better while life gets worse for most people. After all, an economy where 95% of the work was done by enslaved people might produce amazing profits and a very high GDP....

Joel_Mckay 7mo ago
GDP is a measure of economic activity, and goes up when people are forced to rebuild after natural disasters etc. %Debt to GDP excluding military pay and allowances indicates how your grandchildren will live. Above >130% they will be poor, and remain poor indefinitely. You may disagree, but it is not like anyone wants this to happen. The economic conservatives were compromised, and went insane =3
- CalRobert 7mo ago
  I wish it were easier to measure well-being. Someone who works 20 hours a week and half has as much money may well be enjoying life more than someone working 40 hours a week, but we don't quantify this well. When I lived in California I was always weirded out by colleagues talking about how they never took vacations. It's like bragging about being poor.
  - Joel_Mckay 7mo ago
    Generally, there is a fundamental philosophical difference between currency and wealth. In silicon valley, a middle class life is well over >$180k/yr, as Rent-seeking economics is unsustainable. Rule #23: Don't compete to be at the bottom, as you just might actually win. Have a glorious day =3 The ikigai chart helps some highlight better options: https://hyperisland.com/en/blog/thought-leadership/feeling-drained-at-work https://hyperisland.com/en/blog/thought-leadership/feeling-d...
lokar 7mo ago
The use of GDP, or GDP/Population as the primary metric is a real problem. We need to use a metric that is closer to "total economic benefit for the median person", that would include income, as well as government services.
- cess11 7mo ago
  The Gini coefficient and sometimes its' velocity would be a better alternative. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient
  - lokar 7mo ago
    (1 - Gini) * GDP/Pop ?
    - lokar 7mo ago
      Found a chart: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gini-coefficient-vs-gdp-per-capita-pip https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gini-coefficient-vs-gdp-p...

The economy can get better while life gets worse for most people. After all, an economy where 95% of the work was done by enslaved people might produce amazing profits and a very high GDP....

Joel_Mckay 7mo ago

GDP is a measure of economic activity, and goes up when people are forced to rebuild after natural disasters etc. %Debt to GDP excluding military pay and allowances indicates how your grandchildren will live. Above >130% they will be poor, and remain poor indefinitely. You may disagree, but it is not like anyone wants this to happen. The economic conservatives were compromised, and went insane =3

CalRobert 7mo ago
I wish it were easier to measure well-being. Someone who works 20 hours a week and half has as much money may well be enjoying life more than someone working 40 hours a week, but we don't quantify this well. When I lived in California I was always weirded out by colleagues talking about how they never took vacations. It's like bragging about being poor.
- Joel_Mckay 7mo ago
  Generally, there is a fundamental philosophical difference between currency and wealth. In silicon valley, a middle class life is well over >$180k/yr, as Rent-seeking economics is unsustainable. Rule #23: Don't compete to be at the bottom, as you just might actually win. Have a glorious day =3 The ikigai chart helps some highlight better options: https://hyperisland.com/en/blog/thought-leadership/feeling-drained-at-work https://hyperisland.com/en/blog/thought-leadership/feeling-d...

lokar 7mo ago

The use of GDP, or GDP/Population as the primary metric is a real problem. We need to use a metric that is closer to "total economic benefit for the median person", that would include income, as well as government services.

cess11 7mo ago
The Gini coefficient and sometimes its' velocity would be a better alternative. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient
- lokar 7mo ago
  (1 - Gini) * GDP/Pop ?
  - lokar 7mo ago
    Found a chart: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gini-coefficient-vs-gdp-per-capita-pip https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gini-coefficient-vs-gdp-p...