Our Most Pressing Problem

Economic growth– we hear about it all the time, so often that most of us probably don’t notice it any more than we’d notice someone saying that things are going well, or that everything is on track. 

In the world of economic reporting–the sort you might hear every hour or so throughout the day on NPR, or as highlighted in press-releases from the Federal Reserve–economic growth is the measure against which everything else in its orbit is judged; and it has a large orbit.  It has become a synonym for “good,” for “well-functioning ”or“ basic progress.”  And, in the reverse, an economy that is not growing is described as facing some sort of temporary “headwinds,” and we can be sure that economists, industry leaders, and the government are fast at work on the “recovery” that will bring things back to “normal.”

But if you listen to the words of politicians and policy-makers a bit more closely, you might notice that all this talk indicates something more like a preoccupation or obsession, and hear the urgency and anxiety surrounding it.  This is not surprising, as elections are usually won or lost over the issue or economic growth, or who has the best-sounding plan to keep the economy growing.  If you are anything like I was before I started looking into these issues, you probably take this preoccupation with economic growth and the sense that it is a necessary part of our national well-being in unquestioning stride.  After all, there is rarely anyone out there suggesting that something other than economic growth should be our number one priority.  Democrats and Republicans are in equal agreement over its importance, arguing only about how we might achieve the best, fastest, and most sustainable kind of economic growth.  And during times when the economy is not growing as fast as all the economists say it should be, people do lose jobs, houses go into foreclosure, and our political system starts appearing a little rougher around the edges.  Maybe economic growth is a justifiable synonym for the common good.

Read the resilience.org story - “Our Most Pressing Problem.”