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Originally Posted by Bror Jace
...but you extrapolate to the point where we (Americans) are all doomed in the (near?) future.
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I'll agree with you whole-heartedly there. I get carried away, but the point is that the economy isn't designed to last forever.
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Your theory seems to be that we will get so rich that it will be the end of us all.
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Environmental degradation is a result of wealth. The billions of poor have caused a minute fraction of global warming. The world today literally cannot support everyone living an American standard of life.
Why are we afraid of China and India becoming wealthy? Today they are sucking oil fields dry. I can't drive a Hummer anymore because Cheng Duan is becoming a middle class citizen. How dare he!
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Originally Posted by Arminius
The rest of your comments make no sense...
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There's a difference between GDP per capita and GDP (PPP) per capita. I posted both. I'm sorry my comments are gibberish.
If you consider economics as the sole measure of quality of life, you are missing the bigger picture. The United States is the richest nation in the world yet continually scores mid-teens on quality of life indices. Bhutan actively works towards the happiness of their people. America actively works towards the happiness of the stock market. Somewhere along the line we got our ends and means mixed up...
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Originally Posted by NewEconomist Blog
...the main argument usually advanced in favor of Nordic social-democracies: that a huge dose of public intervention can bring about a lot of socially desirable outcomes that are not fully reflected in the GDP per capita. Like, for instance, a low level of poverty (OECD figures), a high level of subjective satisfaction, a less unequal society or a reduced gender pay gap (though see this and this on the glass ceiling). Indeed a composite index of 16 social indicators computed by the OECD finds Sweden well-ahead of the other developed countries (pdf, p 27). Now, I know that not all these results would necessarily sway a card-carrying libertarian (what’s wrong about income inequality anyway?), but surely some should, like the fact that social mobility is a lot higher in Sweden (and in the other Nordic countries) that in the U.S. or in Britain.
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I'm getting carried away. I'll shut up now.
- LostCause