Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 57

CHAPTER 1 passing on debt to future generations of Americans who would pay for it in higher taxes.30 In fact, both political parties are more preoccupied with the deficit than they need to be. From 1946 to 1976, the national debt actually doubled in size.31 But because the economy was growing faster than the debt, the debt shrank to 33 percent of GDP.32 In the meantime, an entire generation of Americans enjoyed rapidly improving living standards. Between 1947 and 1973, the economy’s annual productivity growth averaged 2.9 percent,33 and because low unemployment was the norm, it was a period of broadly shared growth. That changed beginning in 1980, when the gains from productivity growth started to go increasingly to Table 1.1 Jobs and Income Policy Preferences of Affluent vs. the wealthiest Americans. General Public Productivity is still on the increase; it has grown an average of Policy 2.3 percent annually since 1995.34 If this well-established trend continues The government in Washington ought to see to it that everyone for the next 25 years, and if prowho wants to work can find a job ductivity gains are broadly shared The federal government should again, the real value of wages (the provide jobs for everyone able value once adjusted for inflation) and willing to work who cannot find a job in private employment will be on average 75 percent higher. That’s quite a jump in disposable Source: Demos. Table 2 in Mijin Cha (December 7, 2012), “Why is Washington Reducing the income.