The great stagnation: How America ate all the low-hanging fruit of modern history, got sick, and will (eventually) feel better
2011
Abstract
America’s economic malaise stems from a failure to acknowledge the depletion of “low-hanging fruit” – readily available resources like free land, immigrant labor, and technological advancements that fueled past prosperity. Since the 1970s, these advantages have diminished, leading to stagnant wages and a sense of economic decline. While both political parties offer solutions, their proposals often overlook the underlying reality of resource scarcity. The path to recovery requires a realistic assessment of our current economic situation and a commitment to developing new sources of growth.
Quotes from this work
It was a common platitude—during the boom years of the 1980s—that Japan was the future and that America needed to follow and learn from Japan. The funny thing is, those claims might have been true, but in the opposite direction of how they were intended. Japan is an object lesson in how to live with a slow-growth economy.