The wealth of a nation

摘要

On the surface, Americans' economic plaints don't make much sense. We complain of job anxiety, though layoffs and firings are no more common than usual; we moan about the economy in a time of low-inflation economic growth; we are pessimistic about the long-term future after history has proved that market capitalism tempered by welfare-state protections works better than any other economic system. Family incomes, whether measured by statistics that indicate they are growing slowly or by those that say they are stagnant, are high enough to make today's Americans the most affluent people in history.