[mattas]

There's a disconnect between measured productivity and "anecdotal" productivity. I love this chart because it also demonstrates one of the most effective ways to increase productivity: simply reducing the workforce.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/OPHNFB

[mmooss]

> it also demonstrates one of the most effective ways to increase productivity: simply reducing the workforce.

You can cut costs and increase productivity by firing everyone else and taking no salary yourself. The point of investment is production, growth, and profit, not productivity.

[skybrian]

Output per worker is the formal definition of productivity, but that doesn't mean we should assume fixed output.

Under conditions of scarcity, it's usually beneficial to increase output or to produce different kinds of output. At least, if someone will pay for it.

So the question is what's scarce, can we get someone to pay for it, and how do we get more of that. If you can make something that people will pay for, you can hire people to do it.

Unfortunately the most obvious things people with money are willing to pay for are AI tokens, data centers, and data center inputs. It's unclear how this gets us more of other things we want.