The U.S. productivity slowdown: an economy-wide and industry-level analysis
> The economic gains brought about by labor productivity growth make it possible for an economy to achieve higher growth in labor income,5 profits and capital gains of businesses, and public sector revenue; these economic gains also hold the potential to lead to improved living standards for those participating in an economy, in the form of higher income, greater leisure time, or a mixture of both.The use of “possible” and “hold the potential to” are telling.My belief is that as the profits and shareholder compensation have risen disproportionately to wages, the workers who are the key to unlocking the productivity growth have lost their incentives. Why increase productivity when your pay doesn’t increase? This is obvious with the current anti-work movement and labor “shortage”.If the wealth and growth was shared more evenly, and greed was kept in check, I believe we could easily be at the 2% rate.