Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c71IR // #c71Synthesis

While these two key economic statistics tracked each other for most of the postwar period, they became decoupled in the late 1990s. Productivity continued its upward path as employment sagged.

— In our words · Source: The Second Machine Age (Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee)

[Use when]

When someone says economic growth lifts all boats.

[Why it matters]

The chart that broke the postwar deal: productivity at record highs while employment and median income flatline — growth no longer lifts all boats automatically.

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