11/19/2021
The Modern Economic System is Unsustainable
Some would have you believe; make the wealthy wealthier and you will get to keep what you have plus possibly some crumbs. However, that does not work in a market where wealth is no longer obtained from workers’ output. When wages were tied to workers’ productivity the wealth was accumulated from the workers’ collective output. However, wages and productivity diverged in 1973. Productivity and Hourly compensation rose 96.7% and 91.3% respectively from 1948 to 1973. However, from 1973 to 2013, while productivity increased by 7.4%, hourly compensation only rose by 9.2%.
Now that wages are no longer tied to productivity, wealth comes from the workers’ consumption. The wealthy have already taken all they can from productivity. Now, they must take directly from the producer or individual. And since wages have not risen with productivity, the individual will eventually become insolvent as the price of consumption increases.
How many times over the years have you heard financial news freaking out about the “the cost to consumers?” It may sound as though they are concerned for consumers, yet the real concerns are always surrounding having enough people left participating in consumption to support the amount of cash the wealthy companies and individuals can hoard and stuff into investments.
In summation, the current economic practices and policies are unsustainable. The market is not free; it is very tightly controlled, yet on a course for inevitable collapse without reimagining how individuals and families, as well as companies and governments, participate; to achieve equity and sustainability for all.
