We, as a society, have a crisis of "metrics"
In optimization and other fields, a "metric" is a measure of how good or how bad something is. Right now we use metrics like GDP, quarterly profits, stock market indexes, etc to measure how well our country is doing. We award bonuses to executives based on quarterly or yearly earnings. The problem is that these metrics are completely out of touch with reality. CEOs and politicians game the equations used to generate these metrics for their own purposes. China, with its ghost cities, is an extreme example of this metric gaming gone wild. We need to use metrics that include things like quality of life, quality of education, quality of the environment, quality of our educators, scientists, medical personnel, etc. Until we can change our metrics of success, there is no chance of getting out of our current funk because the easiest way to improve the metrics is not necessarily the best for the country or the companies that run our economy.
Include the fact the the GOP is doing anything they can to push the metrics down and the situation becomes even more dire.
