Americas GDP fetishism is a rare luxury in an age of vulnerability

Traditional measures seem more abstract than ever as they fail to recognise the struggles of wage-earners in the real world

Two new studies show, once again, the magnitude of the inequality problem plaguing America. The first, the US Census Bureaus annual income and poverty report, shows that, despite the economys supposed recovery from the recession, ordinary Americans incomes continue to stagnate. Median household income, adjusted for inflation, remains below its level a quarter-century ago.

It used to be thought that Americas greatest strength was not its military power but an economic system that was the envy of the world. But why would others seek to emulate an economic model by which a large proportion even a majority of the population has seen their income stagnate while incomes at the top have soared?

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