By these measures, the U.S. economy’s Misery Index has never been lower and hence prosperity has never been higher or more widespread.
But this simply isn’t true: the top 5% are indeed doing better than ever but the bottom 80% are losing ground and the middle 15% are only appearing to do well because asset bubbles have temporarily created illusory wealth. I propose a 21st century Misery Index: Labor’s Share of the Economy and Real-World Inflation.
