Posted on 11/29/2008 11:35:35 AM PST by newbie2008
In his book "The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse," Gregg Easterbrook, senior editor at the New Republic and contributing editor to The Atlantic, castigates the media for dwelling on minor problems without celebrating the broader, more upbeat context in which they exist. One of the broader, more upbeat events of recent years is the significant and dramatic increase in real GDP per-capita worldwide.
Using world GDP data from the IMF and world population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the chart above shows real world GDP per-capita from 1985 to 2013 (data from 2008 - 2013 are estimated). After remaining constant at about $5,000 for 15 years from 1987 to 2002, real GDP per capita will increase 60% from $5,000 in 2002 to an estimated $8,000 this year. After leveling out for a year in 2009 due to the global economic slowdown (see arrow above), growth in per-capita real output is expected to resume in 2010 and exceed $9,000 by 2013.
Bottom Line: The 60% growth in world per-capita real GDP between 2002 and 2008 is probably one of the greatest periods of economic growth in such a short period of time in history, and is definitely part of the broader, more upbeat context of this period in history.
How much is public and private debt?
It's a fact of psychology that the more people earn and prosper, the faster they WANT to prosper, and thus feel worse-off when they are unable to obtain possessions as fast as they feel they deserve.
Just look around at the billionaires, or millionaires.... or even at your well-off neighbors -- who despite being cushy rich are depressed and complaining at how awful everything is.
Regards,
Somebody smokin' dope here, and it ain't me (I'd be more optimistic than I am if I were.
They just realized their mistake and will spend the next four or eight years dwelling on anything that can be portrayed as positive. /s
This is what they did from 1992 to 2000 as well.
What a bunch of bull - he forgot to add that the market lost it all in a matter of weeks.
The ‘market’ and GDP are two different things.
Another interpretation of that graph is to say that world productivity took off after GWB started the pushback against Islamic terrorism, which, even considering this week’s attack in Mumbai, is way down from pre-Bush years.
I learned today that in the USA there are twice as many people in the workforce this year as there were in 1983. In twenty-five years the workforce has Doubled! And productivity per worker has gone up. So consider what today’s 5% unemployment means versus the same number in 1983. A heck of a lot more jobs are being done in our country. - just not on some factory production lines.
Yes, the drive-by media will be finding all kinds of cheery feel-good up-beat stories for the next four years.
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