Quote:
Originally posted by onetime2
The consumer accounts for 2/3 of GDP. Considerably higher than business spending, government spending or anything else combined. If worker productivity was so heavily influenced by infrastructure investment then why is it that worker productivity is among the highest ever when business investment is in the crapper?
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Most returns are not immediate. A new factory bought a few years ago will still be producing productivity gains as it reaches peak efficiecy. Education completed prior to this date will still be giving dividends now. however, ignorance of weak investment in infrastructure and education can only lead to problems down the road.
Stong productivity gains are currently coming from layoffs...as more inefficient workers are fired, and the rest are scared in to working off the clock, etc... This is unsustainable. Firing can only bring up productivity for a short while...and then we're facing a serious situation where there are a lack of jobs, and a lack of producivity increases to provde for a higher standard of living.
Source:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/prod2.nr0.htm
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