So I am confused here why real GDP per capita is above real GDP per FTE. Given than there is more capita (people) than there is FTE. But this is relative to some rate baseline which is 100.

Hypothetical Example:

Year	GDP	Capita	FTE Workers	GDP per Capita	GDP per FTE
1947	$1,000	100	50	$10.0	$20.0
1970	$2,000	150	100	$13.3	$20.0
2014	$6,000	300	200	$20.0	$30.0

In this case GDP Per Capita grows at a rate that is higher than GDP Per FTE.

Intuition

1. For GDP per Capita:
   • The denominator (Capita) grew more slowly than the numerator (GDP). This created a net increase in GDP per Capita.
2. For GDP per FTE:
   • The denominator (FTE Workers) grew at the same rate as the numerator (GDP). This caused GDP per FTE to remain constant.

We also see in this graph real wages either adjusted by:

1. The GDP deflator is a measure of price inflation that reflects the average price level of all goods and services included in a country's GDP. It is calculated as follows:

$$\text{GDP Deflator} = \frac{\text{Nominal GDP}}{\text{Real GDP}} \times 100$$ 2. Consumer costs (CPI)

Income growth as percentiles. e.g 95th percentile means top 5% of American earners. After 1971 the gap widens in income growth and top percentile grows more.

Another graph here showing how income growth accelerates after 1971 for Americas top 1% of earners. But stagnates for bottom 90%.

All values on the y-axis are negative, indicating that the bottom 90% collectively have a larger share of total income than the top 1%. The numbers reflect how much smaller the top 1%'s share is compared to the bottom 90%'s share.

For example:

• At -20%, the top 1%'s income share is 20% less than the bottom 90%'s.
• At -60%, the top 1%'s share is 60% less than the bottom 90%'s.

Share of top 10% of income earners relative to everybody else

After 1971, a clear divergence occurs: U.S. gold reserves decrease, while gold prices increase.

End of the Gold Standard:

• Foreign governments could exchange their U.S. dollars for gold from U.S. reserves. In the 1960s, countries like France started converting large amounts of dollars into gold due to declining confidence in the U.S. dollar, leading to a significant depletion of U.S. gold reserves.
• Once the dollar was no longer tied to gold, the U.S. government was no longer obligated to hold large gold reserves to back the currency. Gold became less critical for monetary policy.
• The U.S. and other countries sold portions of their gold reserves in subsequent years to manage their budgets or reallocate assets, further reducing the reserves.

Key Takeaways:

• Gold Reserves Decrease:
  • Countries no longer needed to maintain massive gold reserves to back their currencies, so the U.S. gold reserves declined.
• Gold Prices Increase:
  • Freed from the fixed peg, gold's price responded to market forces, surging due to inflation, economic uncertainty, and demand as a store of value.

Receipts:

• Definition:
  • Federal receipts are the total income collected by the U.S. government from taxes, fees, and other sources.
  • This primarily includes:
    • Individual income taxes
    • Payroll taxes (e.g., Social Security, Medicare)
    • Corporate income taxes
    • Excise taxes, tariffs, and other miscellaneous revenue.

Outlays:

• Definition:
  • Federal outlays are the total spending by the U.S. government on all programs, services, and obligations.
  • This includes:
    • Mandatory spending (e.g., Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid)
    • Discretionary spending (e.g., defense, education, transportation)
    • Interest on the national debt.

The P/E (Price-to-Earnings) ratio is a widely used financial metric that compares a company's (or stock index's) price to its earnings. It is used to assess the relative value of a stock or the stock market and is a critical indicator for investors.

• High P/E Ratio: The stock (or index) is expensive relative to its earnings. This could mean:
  • Investors expect high future growth.
  • The stock (or market) is overvalued.
• Low P/E Ratio: The stock (or index) is inexpensive relative to its earnings. This could mean:
  • The company (or market) is undervalued.
  • There are concerns about future earnings growth.

This chart underscores the divergence between financial market activity and real economic production after the 1970s, reflecting the increasing dominance of speculation in financial markets.

Market Capitalization:

• Definition:

  • Market capitalization (or market cap) is the total value of a company's outstanding shares of stock.
  • Formula: $$\text{Market Cap} = \text{Share Price} \times \text{Number of Outstanding Shares}$$

Cloture is the process used to end a filibuster. Increasing use of cloture since 1971. Reflects growing use of filibusters and clotures, increased partisanship and gridlock in the senate.

Some of these charts definitely can't be directly caused by depegging of US dollar.

Depegging could have led to globalization, more flexible exchange rates, more trade. This as well as immigration policies of course.

Economic pressures delayed key life events such as marriage as people needed more time to achieve financial stability. Also cultural shifts like shifts in gender roles and priorities (e.g. career focus over early marriage)

Economic pressures could also contribute to divorce

Financial strain can challenge marriage and family stability.

Decline of manufacturing jobs. Many stable blue-collar jobs disappeared (e.g. Detroit, Pittsburgh, St. Louis etc.) had a cascading effect on family structures. Men's economic role diminished, now they faced unemployment, underemployment and lower wages in the service economy. This reduced their ability to fulfill traditional economic roles with in a marriage, leading some to opt out of marriage altogether.

Expansion of welfare programs inadvertently reduced the economic incentives for marriage, particularly in low-income communities, leading to a rise in births outside of marriage.

Womens economic independence may have reduced reliance on marriage for economic stability.

Economic stress from inflation, families less likely to have more kids.

Economic pressures, families seek cheaper food options. Food companies to cut costs begin mass-producing low-cost processed foods, which became more widely available and affordable than fresh whole foods. Sugary foods, snacks, sodas, fast food, heavily marketed to kids.

Economic pressures also forced many families to rely on dual incomes reducing the time available for home-cooked meals and physical activity. Fostered reliance on convenience foods.

Urbanization and economic changes led to less outdoor play, sedentary lifestyle from TV, later videos games and digital devices.

After depegging US subsidized corn production, leading to widespread adoption of High Fructose Corn Syrup. Cheaper sugar alternative.

Inflation leads to increasing medical prices which rose faster than general inflation.

Medicare and medicaid expansion, increased government spending capability post-depegging, healthcare costs ballooned.

With more federal investments/spending, healthcare systems began adopting more expensive technologies and treatments.

U.S. Government also took on more debt to finance programs and subsidies in healthcare

As systems grew post depegging, healthcare administrators responsible for managing billing, compliance and operational costs, become increasingly necessary as the complexity of healthcare economics grew.

Medicare and medicaid required greater need for administrative oversight to handle regulations, billing and management of these programs, fueling growth of administrative roles.

More profit driven model, healthcare became more commercialized, promoting hiring more administrators to optimize billing practices, negotiate insurance reimbursements, and manage increasingly complex revenue streams. Marketing. Human Resources. Executives. Administrative bloat.

New tech adoption, partly fueled by increased spending capacity, required administrative teams to manage implementation and compliance with regulations like HIPAA.

Shift towards cost effective foods. Traditional staples like beef, potatoes and milk had rising costs to cheaper alternatives like chicken, cooking oils and corn-based products (e.g. sweeteners) which gained popularity as they were more affordable for both producers and consumers.

Industrial agriculture, increased government spending, and tech advancements promoted large-scale monoculture farming, particularly of corn and soybeans.

Post depegging corn production was heavilty subsidized and prioritized, corn sweeteners like HFCP surged due to their low cost ad use in processed foods and beverages.

Chicken replaced beef and became the dominant protein source as it was cheaper to produce, and aligned with industrial farming methods. Beef needed more land, water and feed and so its consumption declined as its costs increased relative to chicken.

These graphs highlight dietary shift in the US from traditional whole foods (e.g. beef, potatoes and milk) to processed and cost-effective alternatives (e.g. chicken, corn sweeteners, and vegetable oils).

Some Glossary Terms

1. Nominal GDP:
   • The value of all goods and services produced in an economy at current market prices (not adjusted for inflation).
   • Reflects both changes in the quantity of goods and services produced and changes in their prices.
2. Real GDP:
   • The value of all goods and services produced in an economy adjusted for inflation, measured at constant prices (using a base year).
   • Reflects only changes in the quantity of goods and services produced, isolating the effect of price changes.
3. GDP Deflator:
   • A price index that compares the current price level of goods and services to the price level in the base year.
4. $\text{Personal Savings Rate} = \left( \frac{\text{Savings}}{\text{Disposable Income}} \right) \times 100$