How to Measure the Economy - by Robert Reich
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Link to video
Skip to 4:55 to get a summary.
He advocates that we measure "kitchen table" aspects of the economy, e.g.,
- instead of job numbers, measure median income
- instead of GDP or stock market, look at distribution/concentration of wealth
- instead of "growth," take into account the cost of growth and measure the quality of life
"Median income" is easy to understand, but it looks to me the other two will be harder to sell.
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To me, if you are trying to compare how it is doing vs. other times, it is important to be consistent with the "data" that you have used. I think that over time, it will show how good/bad the economy is doing.