US Elections: Democracy 0 - Structural Change 1

The election is over and the results are as expected bad for the Democrats. I worry a bit that we are experiencing first hand the limits of democracy. We have a great many people voting out of frustration with the economy (understandable) but voting for the same candidates and policies that got us here in the first place (less so). My own frustration is that even the Democrats seem to be in denial about the true underlying causes of the high level of unemployment. The mortgage crisis was a mess for sure but what the downturn really did is give companies a reason to implement the huge productivity gains that had accrued due to technology. The idea that we can get back to growing our way out of the problem the same way we did in the past, while appealing, is unfortunately wrong – at least that’s what I am planning to show with data I am collecting for my “age of abundance” posts. We are experiencing deep structural change and both parties seem to be intent on re-arranging the deck chairs instead. What all of this means is that things are likely going to get a lot worse before they will get better.