Posts

Friday

Image
  The Growing Productivity – Compensation Gap In recent years why hasn't workers’ compensation increased as much as productivity? Grok: In recent decades, particularly since the late 1970s, U.S. labor productivity (amount of product production per hour of work) in the nonfarm business sector has grown substantially faster than compensation for typical median income-level workers. From 1979 to 2025, productivity rose about 90%, while typical hourly compensation increased only around 33%. The two tracked closely until the late 1970s, but diverged afterward as gains increasingly flowed to top earners, executives, and capital owners (e.g. stockholders) rather than broadly across the workforce. … This gap persists due to a combination of structural and policy shifts that redirected productivity gains. Driving factors include declining unionization, weaker enforcement of labor laws, tolerance for higher unemployment to control inflation, stagnant real minimum wages for long periods, and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thursday

  Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed. PART 9 The Real Economy in the Long Run Chapter 25 of 36 Production and Growth Section 17 of 22 … Things government can promote and strengthen to increase productivity and living standards include: 1· saving and investment 2· investment from abroad 3· education 4· health and nutrition 5· property rights and political stability 6· free trade 7· research and development 8· population growth … 7· Research and development Advancement of technological knowledge is the main reason living standards are higher today than a century ago. Most technological advances come from firms and individual inventors private efforts and research. There is a public interest in promoting these efforts. To a large extent knowledge is a public good. Once one person makes a discovery it enters society's pool of knowledge and others can use it. Just as government has a role in providing public goods such as national defense, it also ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wednesday

Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed. PART 9 The Real Economy in the Long Run Chapter 25 of 36 Production and Growth Section 16 of 22 … Things government can promote and strengthen to increase productivity and living standards include: 1· saving and investment 2· investment from abroad 3· education 4· health and nutrition 5· property rights and political stability 6· free trade 7· research and development 8· population growth … 6· Free trade Some of the world's poorest countries have tried to achieve more rapid economic growth by pursuing inward-oriented, protectionist policies. With these policies, they attempt to increase productivity and living standards within the country by avoiding trade interaction with the rest of the world. Their domestic firms often convince policymakers of the infant-industry argument claiming protection is needed from foreign competition to initially succeed and then grow. This infant-industry argument together with ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tuesday

  Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed. PART 9 The Real Economy in the Long Run Chapter 25 of 36 Production and Growth Section 15 of 22 … Things government can promote and strengthen to increase productivity and living standards include 1· saving and investment 2· investment from abroad 3· education 4· health and nutrition 5· property rights and political stability 6· free trade 7· research and development 8· population growth … 5· Property rights and political stability An important requirement for the economy to work is respect for property rights. Production in market economies results from interactions of millions of individuals and firms. When you buy a car, you are buying the output of these and more · a car dealer · a car manufacturer · a steel company · an iron ore mining company This division of production allows the economy's factors of production to be used as efficiently and effectively as possible. … Property rights are the ability...
Post a Comment
Read more

Monday

Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed. PART 9 The Real Economy in the Long Run Chapter 25 of 36 Production and Growth Section 14 of 22 … Things government can promote and strengthen to increase productivity and living standards include: 1· saving and investment 2· investment from abroad 3· education 4· health and nutrition 5· property rights and political stability 6· free trade 7· research and development 8· population growth … 4· health and nutrition Another way to increase human capital is expenditures that help improve population health. Healthier workers are more productive thereby raising the nation’s living standards. Economic historian Robert Fogel has estimated in Great Britain in 1780 about 20% of the population were so malnourished they could not do manual labor. Among those who could work malnutrition substantially reduced the amount of labor they could do. As nutrition improved so did workers' ability to work and productivity. … Part...
Post a Comment
Read more

Scot and Fumiko pictures and information

Image
  Fumiko Scot's information: Weight at 166 pounds, got to 160 pounds five years ago and have recently been bouncing between 163 and 168. Common sense ways to lose and keep off weight are eat right and light and get lots of exercise. Main exercise is walking, do 1~2 miles most days. Over career worked as a salesman in the steelmaking, fasteners, and auto manufacturing industries, lots of travel in U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Japan. Have visited every U.S. city with a major league, MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, sports team except Sacramento, have gotten as close as Travis Air Force Base. Often traveled on Sundays, much time on the road so could not eat right and get enough exercise so got heavy, up to 200 lbs. Was on commission and made enough to retire early, able eat good food and get enough exercise. Now spend most time reading and writing. Our Wick branch goes back to the brother of owner of the Wick House at Morristown National Historical Park in Morristown New Jersey, and on back to Staine...
Post a Comment
Read more

HAT Manifesto Part 1/2 - Rubric Cube - 260405 edit

Image
  “The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds.” - William James “All experience has shown mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” - Thomas Jefferson “Wherever good fortune enters, envy lays siege and attacks it. And when it departs, sorrow and repentance remain behind.” - Leonardo da Vinci “Struggle is the indispensable accompaniment of progress. If men were entirely social, man would stagnate. A certain alloy of individualism and competition is required to make the human species survive and grow. Without qualities of an unsocial kind men might have led an Arcadian shepherd life in complete harmony, contentment, and mutual love. But in that case all their talents wou...
Post a Comment
Read more