Blogtrek

The ultimate growth rate is zero

The economists are saying that growth will grow at a languid rate of about 1% this year. They seem to like it when it is 3% or more. Economists and others seem to want growth, growth all the time. They don't recognize a fundamental law: The ultimate growth rate is zero. This is the case because if growth rate is negative, soon you will have practically nothing, as things decay away. If growth rate is positive, things will keep growing until it exceeds the capacity of our finite resources. Therefore, neither positive nor negative growth rates can continue indefinitely, and thus the only real growth rate is zero. I think we will be better off when economists regard a year of -0.6% or 1.4% or something like that as being a good year. We certainly don't need more growth.