Tuesday, July 14, 2015

5 things about the economy that will shock you

Dean Baker explains



WE THE ECONOMY | Top 5 things about the Economy that would shock most people - Dean Baker from We The Economy on Vimeo.

16 comments:

  1. This video was very interesting and to the point. First off, I was actually not surprised about the fact that we are now about twice as wealthy in comparison to forty years ago. I think that it is evident that even with the ups and downs of the economy and experiencing the recession in the early 2000's, we have grown so much as a major world power. On the other hand, I did find it actually very surprising when he stated the fact that we work about 20% more than the other wealthy nations. I feel as though the stereotype of Americans in comparison to other wealthy nations is always being portrayed as the "lazy" American. This fact was pleasingly shocking to me.

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  2. This video led me to question some areas of the US's well being, but also applaud some of our hard work. Why is it that American's healthcare is so much more expensive than in other countries? Is it because our system is so disorganized that we are costing ourselves, or are we just not healthy people? The US is also the hardest working in terms of hours spent in the labor market. This is something that doesn't really surprise me compared to countries that have traditional siestas.One of the key factors of economic growth is the ability to be productive, while our long work weeks might not mean we are super productive, it does show that we are willing to get stuff done.

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  3. This video surely shocked me. It's interesting to me that our per person health care costs are twice as much as other countries. If the U.S works 20% more hours per year than other wealthy countries, why are our health care costs much more expensive? Those two things are probably unrelated but I still don't understand why we spend more on health care. I was talking to my Dad about this video and he explained that the downturn definitely caused a loss of about $50,000 in our household.

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  4. This was very interesting. I am surprised by how much more we pay for health care than other countries. It seems that we should look at and try to learn from other countries because this has been a hot topic recently. It was also interesting that we work much harder and longer than other nations. We are a very advanced nation but is there something to be said about off time. It may be beneficial to us for our health and over all well being to take a break every once and a while because these other successful nations have found how to balance it.

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  5. This was very interesting. I am surprised by how much more we pay for health care than other countries. It seems that we should look at and try to learn from other countries because this has been a hot topic recently. It was also interesting that we work much harder and longer than other nations. We are a very advanced nation but is there something to be said about off time. It may be beneficial to us for our health and over all well being to take a break every once and a while because these other successful nations have found how to balance it.

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  6. I am extremely surprised at the fact that we are twice as wealthy as we were forty years ago and will be twice as wealthy as we are now in another 40 years. It also shocks and disappoints me that we have basically thrown away nearly $5 trillion in potential output because of the deficit. As far as healthcare is concerned, I am surprised that we in the USA pay nearly twice as much as other developed nations, but I was expecting us to pay more.

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  7. i am happy to see that the US is much harder working than the stereotypes make it seem. However is it necessary to have us working this hard, the video claimed that we are working 20% more hours, but are we as a nation being as productive as we should be. it seems that other wealthy nations are working less but being just as productive as the US, does this really mean we are working harder?

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  8. I was very surprised at the first two facts that we are twice as wealthy compared to forty years ago and will be twice as wealthy in the next forty years. It made us seem like we were doing pretty well in the economy. The fact that we work 20% more hours than other countries makes sense because many people are working more hours to gain income to cover the costs of living, especially for low income families. Also, I think the idea of financial stability achieved through working, which has been greatly emphasized throughout the country, influences Americans to work more. Last of all, I thought it was crazy that we’ve lost $5 trillion in potential output. Knowing that’s worth $50,000 per family makes it seem worse.

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  9. I applaud Baker for noting that wealth has increased, however, prices have also increased and the dollar bill buys a lot less now than it did even 10 years ago. Nevertheless, with the government spending increasing and saving decreasing, households are forced to save and invest in the most productive and promising products.

    I have actually always been curious how much more Americans work than other countries. I would have guessed 10-15%, but 20% more than other countries is staggering. I think that we work more because we are more afraid of what could happen if we didn't work more; i.e. losing a job, promotion, or a raise. Americans surely value leisure time, but we don't take any leisure time. We are consistently pushing forward, competing with our co-workers to become the best of the best.

    I think that this problem is definitely relevant in my life. I currently live in Tahoe City, CA overlooking a beautiful lake, and what do I do? I work 40+ hours a week to pay off student loans, and pad my resume. I am constantly looking at my online schedule to check if anyone has dropped a shift so that I can pick it up. I've been here for a month now, and I have spent a total of 2 days enjoying the lake and spending time with friends.

    I truly worry for my generation because we do not have job security, and we will most likely have to save more now (for retirement) as the prospect of receiving social security diminishes with each passing year. Not to mention, an undergrad degree is now nearly equivalent to a high school diploma. To secure a job, my generation must spend every penny on higher education, above the undergrad level.
    I think that this is more of a shocking note than any of the 5 that Baker mentioned.

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  10. I have to admit, that wasn't completely shocking to me. The wealth multiplication was certainly the least shocking; However, I was a bit surprised as to the dollar amount forgone in the course of the Great Recession.
    Baker's second point on the continued average wealth accumulation is rather unsurprising. I've developed a bad habit of reading foreign policy projections, especially on the role of the United States, and I have yet to find a mainstream analyst that predicts the downfall of the United States economically for at least the next 100 years.

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  11. As most individuals have said above, I am not quite surprised by the fact that we are twice as wealthy as 40 years back. With the advancement in our technology and way of doing things, it makes complete sense. And this will be a continual progression for the coming years. I feel as though the fourth point emphasizes why we are on an increasing rate; we work much harder than any other country. But what comes surprising is the fact that we have lost 5 trillion in output or 50 thousands dollars per family. I never really realized how much money we are just "throwing in the garbage."

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  12. I wasn't that surprised about that fact that we work more than any other country. I think the whole mindset of you have to work to get money and you need to have money in order to be successful has been a part of our society since the beginning. I was a little bit shocked that we are paying twice as much for healthcare than other countries. This surprised me because I feel like our healthcare system isn't that much better than other well-developed countries, so why are we paying so much for it? Maybe this shows that we place more emphasis on length of life rather than quality of life.

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  13. I had a recent discussion with my mom about how times have changed. Conditions now are very different from how they were in the past. She told me when she was a teen she only had to pay $1 for a movie ticket, and now it’s up to $10 a movie ticket. It’s shocking to me that in 40 years a single movie ticket might be more than $20. Then again, I guess it’s only shocking when compared to the amount a movie ticket is today, and if our wealth doubles in 40 years, which is expected, then that $20 for a movie ticket will be normal.

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  14. I agree with the other people's comments that it seems as though the overall productivity levels of the country must be a lot lower than others. If we are working 20% more hours but not comparatively gaining more wealth, we should be looking for ways to increase productivity. I was also not surprised that health care costs more compared to other wealthy nations. However, I think a lot of attention is being given to this issue in politics right now so it will be interesting to see how future politicians choose to deal with this fact. Another one of the facts that jumped out to me was the loss of 5 trillion in potential revenue due to the economic downtown. That is a tremendous loss in potential monetary gain.

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  15. I found the fact that Americans work 20% more hours a year very interesting, but not surprising. I've read articles before that have highlighted this point and also point out that we really don't even like to use our vacation days and we are just constantly working. It's interesting the lifestyle choices between us and other countries like France, that many people will take off a month in the summer or Spain where in the middle of the day most businesses close for their "siesta" time. I think we don't value our leisure/ time in general as most other countries. I also agree with the point above that has been mentioned that we should find ways to be more productive and use our time to increase more output or find more efficient ways to use our work time, rather than just working longer to get the same results as those who don't work as much as us.

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  16. When it comes to economy, I never get shock, it is something which is possible to do anything. I work in Forex trading where too there are enough shocking things, so that’s why we need to be very careful with how we work, I am lucky that I trade with OctaFX broker especially with their outstanding Champion demo contest, it allows me to practice and work well without worrying about any shocks or surprises, so that helps me make money in real account.

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