We also need better schools (from early-childhood through young adulthood, followed by systems of lifelong learning) so everyone has a fair shot at a larger share of the gains.
Finally, the benefits of the productivity revolution should be turned into more abundant public goods -- cleaner air and water, better parks and recreation, improved public health, and better public transit.
Regressive right wingers want Americans to believe we've been living beyond our means, and can no longer afford it.
The truth is just the reverse. Most Americans' means haven't kept up with what the economy could provide -- if the fruits of the productivity revolution were more widely shared.
Regressives growl about America's borrowing and tut-tut about future federal budget deficits. The reality is the world is willing to lend us vast amounts of money because we're so productive. And the productivity revolution is making us ever more so.
Get it? The pie is growing again but most people aren't getting much of a slice. That's bad even for those getting the biggest pieces. They'd do better with smaller slices of a pie that grew much faster.
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