The gross domestic product is a measure of our nation's output, the wealth that we create. What is your share? If you work for a living, it isn't very much. After all, you have to share it with 300,000,000 other Americans. On the other hand, productivity has been rising. You are working smarter and more efficiently. How much of that has shown up in your paycheck?
It isn't that hard to find out. The GDP and population have been measured fairly accurately since the late 19th century. Wages have been measured, but there are many ways to measure wages. Are we talking about hourly wages, weekly wages, or annual wages? How do we take unemployment into account? Luckily, we don't have to account for inflation. Wages are paid in the same dollars that are used to measure the GDP.
Let's take a look at the numbers, and take a look at your share of the GDP.
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