The United States is currently experiencing a surge in worker productivity that could rival that of the tech boom 20 years ago — if it lasts.
As companies and customers embrace new technologies, making it easier for Americans to produce more with fewer workers, a growing number of economists say this is not a blip and could turn into a boom — or, at least, a “mini boom” ― with wide-ranging benefits for years to come.
Higher productivity is the economy’s special sauce. Productivity refers to how much output a worker can do in an hour. When workers have better tools or the help of robots and artificial intelligence, they can make cars or process data much faster. Higher productivity typically leads to more goods and services available at a lower cost and increases in wages. Without it, economic growth is sluggish.
The early data in this recovery is promising. Worker productivity grew 4.3 percent in the first quarter, one of the highest rates in years, according to the Labor Department. Second quarter productivity slowed to 2.3 percent growth, but that’s still nearly double the anemic productivity the nation experienced in the decade after the financial crisis — an average of just 1.2 percent.
After the Great Recession, tech experts and economists struggled to understand why seeming breakthroughs with robotics and artificial intelligence were not translating into strong and sustained productivity during the rebound.
The optimism this time derives partly from Congress and the White House taking steps to make significant investments in physical and digital infrastructure, and partly from the coronavirus pandemic forcing rapid and widespread adoption of the digital economy, robots and artificial intelligence.
Conditions are ripe for productivity to remain elevated for years to come, according to analysts from Goldman Sachs and the McKinsey Global Institute. As policymakers run the economy hot, there’s heavy demand for products and services. There is also a worker shortage, which is forcing companies to innovate even more as they struggle to find enough employees to fill a record 10 million job openings. If a robot can do someone’s job, companies are trying it.
Some economists even say the United States could be on verge of a productivity boom not seen since the late 1990s.
“America used to do a lot more public investment and it used to grow faster. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. It seems like we are reentering an era of public investment,” said professor Erik Brynjolfsson, director of Stanford University’s Digital Economy Lab. He forecasts “a productivity surge that will match or surpass the boom times of the 1990s.”
There is a great deal here that is worth thinking about in detail.
For example:
What is the true import of greater productivity?
Our economy and the wealth and leisure time of individuals is ripe for analysis. What is the true role of individuals in a society? Of corporations? Of governments?
How do we move to economic and governmental systems that stand a chance of having the majority of humans thrive in the near future and ensure the probable success of humans for centuries/millennia to come?
The festival hat you just posted...I've never seen hats like that in Chinese clothing before but it looks similar to hats in Korean hanbok, are they similar?
I saved this ask for now since it’s very relevant to Chinese New Year, which is today! The festival hat post you’re referring to is this one. The hat is a Tiger Hat, called 虎头帽/Hu Tou Mao in Chinese.
Hats embodying the shapes of animals are traditionally worn by Chinese children to protect them from evil spirits and ensure their future success. Worn mostly by young boys, these hats are given to mark special occasions during the child’s development. They are worn for festive events, such as a child’s birthday, New Year’s celebrations, and festivals/holidays.
Tigers have long been used as a totem in China, appearing everywhere from armor to pillows in hopes of endowing the user with the strength and vitality of the King of Beasts. It was believed that tigers frightened away evil spirits and ensured a prosperous future. Below - a variety of Tiger Hats:
The Tiger Hat is worn by children during Winter and early Spring festivities in order to bless them with the strength of the tiger. It also serves as a warm hat and a cute decoration:
Tiger Hats are typically worn with Tiger Shoes, which are shoes created in the shape of tigers:
For more photos, see my “Tiger Hat” and “Tiger Shoes” tags.
The similar hat in Korean hanbok you’re referring to is called Hogeon (“Tiger Cap”). It’s the Korean version of the Tiger Hat. Similar to the Chinese Tiger Hat, it’s worn by young boys during holidays and celebrations. The outer is made of a black silk, while the inner is dark blue silk. A tiger pattern is embroidered on the surface, reflecting parents’ wish for their children to grow brave:
Hope this helps!
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (thanks @fate-magical-girls for a lot of the info/links)
In addition to tiger hats, children also had tiger shoes and tiger bibs. The more tigers the merrier.
Depending on the holiday, children had a variety of festive hats. For example, during the Spring Lantern festival, there’s the carp hat. During the Full Moon festival, there’s the bunny hat. During the Hungry Ghost festival, there’s the lotus hat. You can see the types of hats here.
Zhengzhou Museum has a deal with a private collector who sometimes allows them to exhibit her collected embroidery items, including a large collection of tiger hats. Another collection of tiger hats is at The Chinese Museum of Women and Children in Beijing. Official site here
Finally, here is a DIY tiger hat.
Pattern here! (instructions in Chinese, picture 1 and 2 show how to cut out the pattern, 3 and 4 show how to make decorations)
As you’ve no doubt heard by now, the Biden administration’s decision to leave Afghanistan has become an unmitigated disaster thanks to the shocking speed with which the Taliban have taken control of the country. Obviously the situation isn’t solely the fault of Joe Biden; rather, it’s a 20-year scene in the making, started by a guy who would prefer to be associated with his painting career than with the deaths of thousands of Americans and two unending wars. As my colleague Eric Lutz noted earlier, though, it is the case that “what is happening in Afghanistan is precisely what Biden said, in no uncertain terms, would not happen,” from his insistence that the Afghan government would be able to hold the line against the Taliban to his claim that under no circumstances would we see “people being lifted off the roof of an embassy of the United States from Afghanistan,” which was almost exactly the case. Most heartbreaking, the administration had sworn it would protect Afghan nationals and other partners on the ground, but many have been left in a terrifying state of limbo.
Still, Biden’s three presidential predecessors aren’t exactly in a position to criticize. Of course, understanding why they should keep their thoughts on the matter to themselves at this time requires self-awareness—something Donald Trump was born without, hence his absurd call over the weekend for Biden to resign:
Former president Donald Trump Sunday called on President Biden to “resign in disgrace” over his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal and other issues. “It is time for Joe Biden to resign in disgrace for what he has allowed to happen to Afghanistan, along with the tremendous surge in COVID, the border catastrophe, the destruction of energy independence, and our crippled economy,” the former president wrote in a statement.
Weirdly, Trump did not note in his statement that less than two months ago, he was bragging about how he started the Afghanistan-withdrawal process and claiming the Biden administration was powerless to stop it.
Or that someone on his team decided to delete from his website an April statement in which he said, “Getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do,” chastising Biden for not doing it sooner than September 11.
If they really wanted change in the area, they had 20 years to train an entire generation of women to take over the military. They, at least, would have been motivated to fight.
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