Growth of what?

"The good news is that Americans have never been richer. The bad news is that most of them don't feel like it," wrote Allison Schrager. "In 1967, a little more than 5% of Americans earned or received more than $150,000 (in 2024 dollars). Now more than 30% do. And it's not just the middle class that moved up: In 1967, more than 38% earned or received less than $50,000. Now that figure is 21%." "There are hundreds of Americans who are worth more than a billion dollars," "and more have the sense that something is wrong with the economy." A new study by the American Enterprise Institute finds 31% of households, up from 10% in 1979, now earn $153,864 to $461,592, enough to be considered upper middle class. "The share of wealthy households also rose 3.7%, roughly 12 times higher than in 1979, while poverty and near-poverty rates declined." man.com. "Over the past half-century, incomes have risen across the distribution, aided by economic growth, expanded opportunities - especially for women - and a stronger safety net." However, "High housing costs, expensive college education and rising healthcare expenses can stretch budgets even for households earning well into six figures. For families of color, these pressures are often more acute." The Print. An increase in double-income families and higher income for women are reasons for increasing household wealth. "In 1970, about 11% of women had college degrees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Today, about 40% of American women have bachelor's degrees, which is linked to higher lifetime earnings." CBS. "Since January 2025, manufacturing jobs have indeed fallen by about 100,000 workers, or about 0.6%. In the same period, though, manufacturing production rose 2.3%, and manufacturing shipments, unadjusted for inflation, climbed 4.2%." "The US is good at making things that happen to be in big demand right now," and "manufacturing indicators have improved since Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariffs a year ago, despite some predictions of calamity." WSJ. Maybe no calamity for the US, but a small calamity for India. "The (Indian) rupee has declined 10.8% in FY26 since the closing levels of last fiscal year. Much of this has come during the pre-war period, even when the dollar was weakening, and other currencies were gaining. This was due to a "calibrated depreciation approach" by the RBI, "massive capital outflow due to concerns over high tariffs and valuations, and widening trade deficit and high gold imports," wrote Payal Bhattacharya. More Indians are borrowing to finance their spending. "Over the past seven years, the number of Indians with outstanding debt has more than doubled, from 128 million in 2017-18 to 283 million in 2024-25," and there has been "a surge in household financial liabilities, ballooning from Rs 3.9 trillion in FY2015 (financial year 2015) to Rs 18.8 trillion FY2024 before moderating to Rs 15.7 trillion in FY2025." NDTV. And yet, "The stagflation risk is real" for the US, and India remains the world's fastest growing major economy. Earnings rising in the US, borrowings rising in India. Calamity or growth. Strange.