The tragic consequence of the American boom

The increasingly polarised US economy has meant that a record-breaking period of growth has been accompanied by falling life expectancy, high levels of poverty and stagnant living standards for average Americans, the International Monetary Fund has said.  The IMF highlighted a range of “troubling” social indicators marring a decade-long expansion which in July will be the longest in the country’s history.

Noting that unemployment was at its lowest in 50 years, but that “the benefits from this decade-long expansion have not been widely shared”.

It singled out:

• The impact of rising suicides and drug overdoses on falling life expectancy, now one of the lowest in the G7.
• A rise of just 2.2% in inflation-adjusted incomes for the median US household since the end of the 1990s, even though per capita incomes have risen by 23%.
• A decrease in wealth among the poorest 40% of the population since 1983.
  The fact that 45 million Americans live in poverty.
• An erosion of social mobility so that half of today’s young American adults earn less than their parents did at a similar age. Forty years ago the figure was 10%.
• Poor education outcomes by international standards despite devoting a bigger slice of national income to schools and colleges.
  It called for more generous in-work benefits for the low paid, a minimum wage rise, higher spending on education and action to reduce deaths by opioids as part of a wide-ranging programme of anti-poverty measures. 

“Addressing the growing divergences between the aggregate fortunes of the real economy and the standard of living for the bulk of the US population is complex and will require action on many fronts,” the IMF said.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jun/06/imf-tells-us-record-growth-is-costing-average-citizens-dear