A team of researchers from Wye Sprite University has developed a new way to measure economic productivity, which they claim is more “inclusive,” and their measure shows that the economy is growing at a 10% clip, a remarkably fast rate. The research team, composed of two sociologists and a statistician, used what they call “measures of individual contribution, rather than the organizational contribution relied on by the official measures.” Working with data from a large online job posting website, the researchers drew quantifiable data from millions of resumes and then used statistical analysis to extrapolate from these individual figures to a society-wide number.
Harold Meyerson, one of the creators of this new index, dubbed the Gross Individual Economic Contribution Model, walked through the process. “Here we have a resume for one—well, leave the name out, but he is a marketing director at a chemical wholesaler. He reports, and I quote, ‘Instituted streamlined cold call process, leading to $150 million in leads and over $35 million in sales.’ So, there, we have a $35 million contribution over the 18 months he was employed at that firm. We can use that number. Now, would the firm’s data back this up? I don’t know. They have all sorts of incentives to fudge the numbers. They might want to avoid taxes or cheat this man out of his commissions. You can’t trust what the firms report, and yet—irony of ironies—that is exactly what the official GDP is based on.”
Meyerson scrolled through more resumes, the raw data for his research program. “Listen to this, ‘Increased sales from $15,000 to over $900,000.’ Wow, huh? ‘Managed a $4 million acquisition budget.’ ‘Oversaw acquisition of competing firm with $6 million in annual sales.’ It goes on and on. It’s breathtaking when you get this kind of glimpse of all that humanity can accomplish.”
Using the collected reports of millions of job seekers and sophisticated population sampling techniques, Meyerson and team calculate that the US economy generated between $450 and $650 trillion in value last year, as compared to an official GDP of just $15 trillion. The real bright spot is that they see the economy growing at a remarkable rate every year for which they have data. “That’s the reality,” says Meyerson. “That’s people’s lived experience based on what they wrote themselves. Their own words. Your own words. You’re a part of this measure. No one is left out.”
Asked about criticisms that self-reported figures might be unreliable, Meyerson responds, “It’s a common academic technique. Surveys and polls are used throughout academia and the private sector. And, I would ask you, unreliable compared to what? The idea that you can trust some number just because it comes from the government is a gross fallacy, and one intended to keep you blind and dependent on their official sanction. Their numbers are just someone’s reports, right?”
A spokesperson for the Republican Party denounced the study as a blatant attempt to sway the election for Barack Obama. Meyerson responded: “Hah! I’m voting for Nader again. He’s not running? Well, I’ll write him in.”
