Gosh Darn Problem!
After winning the Republican primary in Florida, Mitt Romney said that he is not worried about the poor because they have a safety net and he's not worried about the wealthy because they are doing just fine but he is worried about the middle class and wants to help them maintain employment. Can you think of another way to say this? What is Mitt Romney really saying? Here is what I heard: I want to maintain the status quo.
So, what has created the 'status quo' anyway? What drives us? America, whether you like it or not, is driven by money. How do we measure our success? Well, not so long ago congress decided we would measure our success as a nation by the Gross Domestic Product. Now, you may be a person that watches the stock market and you may be a person that looks at the GDP to see how the economy is doing, but what do you really know about the GDP?
In case you need to brush up on your economics, here is how the GDP is calculated:
consumer spending + government spending + investment + (exports - imports)
Since we are measuring spending, and growth occurs when we spend more, it is easy to see how the seeds of consumerism have been carefully planted and watered by marketing, advertising and the need to create a 'healthy' economy. The trick here is that in order for the economy to be considered healthy, the GDP must continually grow. This means that we must constantly increase our spending as well as our exports. This MIGHT make sense...if we had unlimited resources. Money is a resource and we need to keep spending more but what about the resources it takes to produce products? Is continual growth possible forever?
Take a look at this one minute video and decide for yourselves:
Now, do you know what the GDP actually measures? Yes, we had our brief economics lesson but did you know that building more prisons and then incarcerating people in those prisons makes the GDP go up? Personal costs related to crime and automobile accidents are included in the GDP. If the trees on your street need to be cut down in order to widen the road and as a result you need to buy an air conditioner to cool your house down the GDP has a party.1 It doesn't take into account the depletion of natural resources and actually counts the consumption of natural resources as current income instead of the liquidation of an asset.2 A smoker that gets lung cancer is an asset to the GDP. The GDP shows no compassion, as you can see.
Does this sound reasonable to you? If not, don't despair! There are alternatives being developed and used in other countries! The U.S. has been measured using these tools but our idea of success doesn't align with what they measure. Or does it?
The Genuine Progress Indicator takes into consideration your quality of life as well as the overall economic, social and environmental well-being. In The Economics of Happiness Mark Anielski outlines how the GPI adjusts personal consumption expenditures. Here is a quick summary: It adjusts the GDP for income inequality and adds in value for housework, parenting and volunteering.
What is even more impressive is what it subtracts! It subtracts the value of time costs from lost leisure time, family breakdown, commuting time, unemployment and underemployment as well as the cost of long-term environmental degradation. Sound reasonable?
Another indicator that I really enjoy is the Happy Planet Index. This index divides an individual's happy life years by their environmental footprint. Measure your personal HPI here: http://survey.happyplanetindex.org/
I guess the real question is, what do you value? Do you value the time you spend with your family and friends or partaking in leisure activities? Do you value shaking hands with the farmer that harvested your lettuce? Does a shorter commute to work appeal to you? If you think it doesn't matter, think again. Everyday we are voting with our time and our money. If we change our behaviors, I believe that institutions will be forced to change the way they operate. In order to change our reality we need to have a vision and then make choices each day that are in line with that vision. That is why I so often encourage you to live your dreams! To make it happen! Because if it happens for you, it can happen for me and together we can make positive change in the world for everyone.
Here is how our new values are already beginning to change big corporations. Yes, this may just be advertising but everyone has to start somewhere.
Resource Referenced and Used:
So, what has created the 'status quo' anyway? What drives us? America, whether you like it or not, is driven by money. How do we measure our success? Well, not so long ago congress decided we would measure our success as a nation by the Gross Domestic Product. Now, you may be a person that watches the stock market and you may be a person that looks at the GDP to see how the economy is doing, but what do you really know about the GDP?
In case you need to brush up on your economics, here is how the GDP is calculated:
consumer spending + government spending + investment + (exports - imports)
Since we are measuring spending, and growth occurs when we spend more, it is easy to see how the seeds of consumerism have been carefully planted and watered by marketing, advertising and the need to create a 'healthy' economy. The trick here is that in order for the economy to be considered healthy, the GDP must continually grow. This means that we must constantly increase our spending as well as our exports. This MIGHT make sense...if we had unlimited resources. Money is a resource and we need to keep spending more but what about the resources it takes to produce products? Is continual growth possible forever?
Take a look at this one minute video and decide for yourselves:
Now, do you know what the GDP actually measures? Yes, we had our brief economics lesson but did you know that building more prisons and then incarcerating people in those prisons makes the GDP go up? Personal costs related to crime and automobile accidents are included in the GDP. If the trees on your street need to be cut down in order to widen the road and as a result you need to buy an air conditioner to cool your house down the GDP has a party.1 It doesn't take into account the depletion of natural resources and actually counts the consumption of natural resources as current income instead of the liquidation of an asset.2 A smoker that gets lung cancer is an asset to the GDP. The GDP shows no compassion, as you can see.
The GDP does not take into account the value of unpaid housework, childcare at home, volunteer work or leisure. Saving is underrepresented in the GDP because you could be spending that money! Similarly spending on education, health care, social services, and environmental protection are not fairly represented in the GDP because the return on investment from those expenditures is intangible. Worse yet, spending money on healthcare might keep you from getting sick, which is highly more profitable as is the consumption of natural resources. It doesn't want you to walk or ride your bike to work or eat a picnic that you pack in a nice, green park during your lunch hour. It actually prefers that you drive to McDonald's and eat in your car. Oh, and have you ever wondered why the war on drugs still hasn't ended? It's because the drug war - hiring police, investigators, border patrol, lawyers and even the sellers and consumers - contribute to the GDP!
Does this sound reasonable to you? If not, don't despair! There are alternatives being developed and used in other countries! The U.S. has been measured using these tools but our idea of success doesn't align with what they measure. Or does it?
The Genuine Progress Indicator takes into consideration your quality of life as well as the overall economic, social and environmental well-being. In The Economics of Happiness Mark Anielski outlines how the GPI adjusts personal consumption expenditures. Here is a quick summary: It adjusts the GDP for income inequality and adds in value for housework, parenting and volunteering.
What is even more impressive is what it subtracts! It subtracts the value of time costs from lost leisure time, family breakdown, commuting time, unemployment and underemployment as well as the cost of long-term environmental degradation. Sound reasonable?
Another indicator that I really enjoy is the Happy Planet Index. This index divides an individual's happy life years by their environmental footprint. Measure your personal HPI here: http://survey.happyplanetindex.org/
I guess the real question is, what do you value? Do you value the time you spend with your family and friends or partaking in leisure activities? Do you value shaking hands with the farmer that harvested your lettuce? Does a shorter commute to work appeal to you? If you think it doesn't matter, think again. Everyday we are voting with our time and our money. If we change our behaviors, I believe that institutions will be forced to change the way they operate. In order to change our reality we need to have a vision and then make choices each day that are in line with that vision. That is why I so often encourage you to live your dreams! To make it happen! Because if it happens for you, it can happen for me and together we can make positive change in the world for everyone.
Here is how our new values are already beginning to change big corporations. Yes, this may just be advertising but everyone has to start somewhere.
Resource Referenced and Used:
Anielski, Mark. (2007). The Economics of Happiness.
Canada: New society publishers.
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