the result of decades of progress that put Americans at the top of the heap with average spending of $32,000 a year.Posted on 06/15/2015 5:05:05 AM PDT by expat_panama
Do Americans face a future of living standards that don't grow as fast as they once did or, worse yet, even decline? Previous generations might have scoffed at the question. Becoming better off in terms of consumption per capita was something of a birthright, the result of decades of progress that put Americans at the top of the heap with average spending of $32,000 a year.
But the long-established optimism has faded in recent years — and we have only ourselves to blame. The country has strayed from the economic model that created a consumer cornucopia. We're living above our means, one of a mere handful of countries with diminishing prospects for living standards.It's important to grasp what makes countries like the United States rich, while so many other places lag, and some even struggle with consumption per capita of less than $1,000 a year.
The focus usually centers on the physical, human and financial capital used to produce goods and services, earning income for consumption. Simply put, the richest countries have a lot of capital, the poorest ones have very little of it.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
Economic Freedom has been crushed by out of control regulators with a political agenda.
The policies and regulations are NOT there to “improve” anything.
They are in place for the sole purpose of stifling economic growth, population control, and government confiscation via tax policy.
Yikes --stock futures are -0.47% and metals futures are at -0.67%! Not sure why, it's such a lovely day....
It comes down to things like television and credit cards and Hollyweird and their influence over the years. People now just want to sit back and want the good life and barely lift a finger to get it. They also want to carry on in life, doing or saying whatever they please and really not give a sh%t about anything else but themselves.
My description would have been "fanatical anti-business regulators who are in control".
This article is right on the mark.
Agreed. In recent years, I’ve tended to think a lot about smaller places like Poland or Taiwan or New Zealand (lived there from 1982 to 1984)or even Lithuania. They might not have immediate and abundant wealth but I think can and actually have been more successful lately than the US or Canada in a number of instances because getting up first thing to go to work and build and create things and genuinely serve people seems to be a great deal less stigmatized than it is here. They don’t have the big union shops and other nonsense like we do. I would not mind hearing further thoughts on this if mine need clarification (if any).
We were once the greatest juggernauts of technology and innovation which has sadly been crushed by a repressive bureaucratic government. As far as I am concerned our own government is a bigger threat to our way of life than any external government or terrorist threat.
Whenever some lefty tries to blame big business as the root of all evil and inherently defends the benevolence of gov’t, I ask
“which entity has the legal authority to kill you if you don’t comply? Not ‘business’.”
The Founders knew the psychology of these central planners. Take a bunch of central planners from a local municipality and transport them to pre-revolution France and they’d get along just swell with their counterparts but for the language.
We need to end the tyranny of central planning!
They could use the entrepreneurial spirit you’d bring.
Excellent question.
Take a look at ‘conservative’ FR and you’ll find a slew of tenacious neo-Marxists. We’re becoming Reds. Spot on comments.
We need another heavy dose of free enterprise
Government no longer fears the people, and we have tyranny!
The trick it to make the government fear the people so we can have Liberty!
So true. There is a reason we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world and our republican legislators just can never seem to do anything about it. They love to talk about lowering the corporate tax rate but they just won’t do it. They love to talk about rolling back regulations but they just don’t do it.
We have a high corp rate but thank God we do not have a VAT.
Free Traders are Neo Marxists.
That's a lie and you know it. I proved it to you with Marx's own words. Stop lying and prove your point that free trade is bad.
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