NEE Podcast 1: 9 Symptoms of America's Economic Decline

Spencer P Morrison looks at the hard economic data and explores whether or not America’s economy is actually in decline.

Topics covered include GDP growth, income inequality, middle class consumption (including how many hamburgers you can buy), and wage stagnation.

Select Sources:

Alexeev, Michael V. and Clifford G Gaddy. “Income Distribution in the USSR in the 1980s.” Review of Income and Wealth 39 (1993).

Brown, Clarence J. “Money Income of Households, Families, and Persons in the United States: 1985.” United States Department of Commerce, 1987.

Bureau of Economic Analysis. “UN Net International Investment Position, First Quarter 2016.” Accessed June 10, 2016. http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/international/intinv/intinvnewsrelease.htm

Bureau of Labor Statistics “Inflation Calculator.” Accessed June 3, 2016. http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

Chao, Elaine L. 100 Years of US Consumer Spending, Data for the Nation. New York: US Department of Labor, 2006.

Desilver, Drew. “For Most Workers, Real Wages have Barely Budged for Decades.” Pew Research Center (2014).

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, “All Employees, Manufacturing.” Accessed Nov 20, 2016. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MANEMP

Fix the Debt Coalition Inc. “Q&A: Everything You Need to Know About the National Debt.” Accessed July 10, 2016. http://www.fixthedebt.org/everything-about-the-debt

Frank, Robert. “Wealthy Foreigners Bought $100 Billion in US Real Estate.” CNBC, June 22, 2015.

Jackson, James K. “Foreign Ownership of US Financial Assets: implications of a withdrawal.” Congressional Research Service, 2008.

Maddison, Angus. The World Economy: Historical Statistics. Paris, OECD Publishing, 2003.

Muro, Mark, et al. “America’s Advanced Industries: what are they, where are they, and why they matter.” Brooking’s Institute, 2015.

United States Census Bureau. “Income and Poverty in the United States: 2014.” Accessed May 28, 2016. http://www.census.gov/library/publications/2015/demo/p60-252.html

—“Trade in Goods, 1985-2016.” Accessed May 20, 2016. https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html

United States Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service. “Interest Expense on the Debt Outstanding.” Accessed May 22, 2016. https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/ir/ir_expense.htm