High Worker Productivity Probably Means Record Jobless Recovery

An earlier version of the chart above was featured on CD in

I have featured charts similar to the one above that displays real GDP

Mark J. Perry submits:

John M. Mason submits: In order to justify the fiscal stimulus packages of the federal government we must be able to find some relationship between the government expenditures and the performance in the economy.

By Mark J. Perry: I have featured charts similar to this one that displays real GDP and civilian employment over the last ten years. More than any single chart, I think this one really helps to accurately describe the current state of the U.S. economy: 1. Measured by real output (GDP), the U.S. economy has made a complete recovery from the 2007-2009 recession now that real output in Q3 was higher than the 2007 Q4 level when the recession started.

The Economist advocates a rise in the pension age, on the grounds that we are living longer. But I’m not sure this is a problem.Let’s start from a basic fact. Whatever pension system we have - public or private, funded or unfunded - pensions must be paid by existing workers. This is because only these generate the real resources that must be handed over to non-workers.