Florists' Review Media Group has served the global floral in study for over 124 years.
Issue link: http://floridahomesmag.uberflip.com/i/697617
38 | GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com In contrast, the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) measures the overall well-being of a country by subtracting harmful things, such as pollution, crime, and sickness, and including contributions to the economy overlooked by the GDP, such as stay-at-home parents and community volunteering. e Genuine Progress Indicator measures 26 indicators, which can be divided into three main categories: economic, environmental and social. In the United States, the GDP and GPI stayed relatively in sync until 1979, when things began to change. e GDP continued to grow, while the GPI remained stagnant. Although our workload has increased over the decades, with more of our time and resources allocated to economic growth, that strategy is no longer delivering happiness, especially to those on the bottom of the lad- der. e past few decades have squeezed the middle and lower classes, while the top 1% have amassed unthinkable fortunes. Productivity since W WII has increased at a staggering pace, yet instead of sharing the wealth with workers in the form of higher wages or fewer hours for the same pay, cor- porations did the opposite. ey outsourced labor to low-wage regions of the world, laid off workers and increased the workload on the few left behind. By squeezing the bottom line, corporations then showered sharehold- ers with unprecedented profits and rewarded executives with astronomical bonuses. ey spent billions on lobbyists and campaign contributions to buy favor with politicians, who reduced taxes and created favorable laws and trade deals instead of taxing those profits to fund education, infrastructure, transportation systems, environmentally safe energy, and numerous other initiatives that would have actually improved our quality of life. Chinese factory-worker suicides, blood diamonds in the Congo, and 47 million Americans on food stamps are but a few of the casualties of the new world order. Repercussions of globalization have crippled entire industries and desolated many towns, even regions, in the United States. e reasons behind these fundamental changes have become political lightening rods in the current electoral circus. If we have learned anything from recent political developments, it is that Americans on all sides of the aisle are resoundingly not happy. Although many people are displeased with either of the presumptive choices on the table, at least the roar of dissatisfaction has broken through the numbing rhetoric of the media and government establishment. On opposite sides of the podium, both Trump and Sanders were ferocious under- dogs. Both candidates tapped the anger and frustration bubbling under the surface to ignite a new political fervor and bring to light topics rarely on the list of politicians' talking points. Regardless of which party you support, those facts speak for them- selves. Citizens are tired of political rhetoric and empty promises. Many Americans are ready to abandon middle-of-the-road politics in favor of right and left extreme-wing ideology, if it will elicit real change. No more hope, they want action! A poignant reminder of lost oppor tunity. Once a vibrant hub of manufacturing, this abandoned warehouse in Detroit has become a makeshift homeless shelter. Photo credits: Fotolia