Map of life expectancy at birth from Global Education Project.

Monday, April 12, 2021

Like I've been telling you . . .

 Open letter from prominent economists to federal leadership:


The share of our Gross Domestic Product invested in federally funded research and development has fallen from around 2 percent in 1960 to just 0.6 percent today; this means less knowledge-creation, fewer good jobs, and a harder time boosting employment in new sectors. Research—and common sense—tell us that this disinvestment is damaging for U.S. communities and our economy as older infrastructure depreciates, and economic and social challenges go unaddressed.

This government disinvestment has also placed the United States at an extreme competitive disadvantage in relation to other countries. Among OECD countries, the United States ranks 22nd in government investment as a percentage of GDP. And female labor force participation has been largely in decline since 1999, in contrast to rising rates in other OECD countries that invest more heavily in care infrastructure.

 

Government has to make the necessary investments in public goods that private investors won't make. You can call that socialism if you want to, but that's just a word. I can call you a poopyhead. That is not an argument. Free Market™ ideology is destroying us.

1 comment:

Don Quixote said...

Can't argue with that.

Well, not rationally or convincingly.

But then again, I also can't make similar arguments and say that Biden didn't win the election ... or the Shoah didn't happen ... or ten to fifteen million Africans didn't lose their lives in transit to North and South America to become enslaved ... or health care for all is somehow not a desirable thing ... or police have the right to kill people with brown skin.

But a lot of people still suffer from cranial-rectal inversion.