(Clifton, 2011) Our nation's total GDP was measured at $15 trillion; the next nation below us is China at $6 trillion. While America dropped in GDP, China continued to grow. Right now the American GDP is growing at about 2% a year and China continues to grow at a percent of about 10. With this steady increase by the Chinese, they will pass us in highest GDP. If the US loses its number one rank, it will not get the moral, economic, and leadership authority it currently has. (Clifton, 2011) How will this drop in GDP affect US citizens? .
The GDP has a huge effect on nearly every aspect of our daily lives. For starters, a declining GDP generally results in unemployment and people being laid off because many businesses will be bringing in fewer profits. Without great GDP growth there will not be a growth in jobs. For a job market to grow GDP needs to see a growth of at least 3%. (Landefeld) When Americans don't have jobs they tend to be significantly less healthy and happy, with higher rates of depression, obesity, sleeplessness, anger, etc. Those who have been laid off for long periods of time will tend to lose interest in their relationships, friends, family and community. Communities and one's city or the country's economy are greatly affected by each job that is lost. People will tend to feel a sense of hopelessness because 'jobs are the heart and soul of a nation.' (Clifton, 2011) And without these jobs people feel angry, depressed and unsuccessful. It goes like this, business failure leads to job failure, then leads to GDP failure then the government fails. Until the last ten years America had a huge amount of growth. The government used to have a large sum of tax money to fall back on and use. But the as businesses began failing the government was still spending the same amount of money but bringing in less which jump started the nation's current $14 trillion nation debt. That is another major indicator of economic health; the relationship between government income and spending.
