Growth Is Good

“Growth is different from consumerism,” says former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. Properly defined, growth is a measure of society’s well-being, not a code word for exploitation: “Growth is really about the capacity of a nation to produce everything that’s wanted and needed by its inhabitants. That includes better stewardship of the environment as well as improved public health and better schools. … Faster growth greases the way toward more equal opportunity and a wider distribution of gains. The wealthy more easily accept a smaller share of the gains because they can still come out ahead of where they were before. … Slower growth has the reverse effect. Because economic gains are small, the wealthy fight harder to maintain their share.”