"The contribution of recent technological innovations to long-term growth in living standards may be substantially less than the enthusiasts claim." Yes, measuring quality of life is tricky, especially when we attempt to understand it through the lens of monetary wealth.



For instance, let's say I time travel back to 1790's Paris bringing with me a fortune in gold. As stimulating an environment as I may find there, think of what my wealth would not buy me: modern medical care, electric lighting and central heating and cooling, motion pictures, television, photography, musical recordings, telephones, motorized travel, not to mention all of the intellectual and artistic content that had not yet been made available in 1790.



Now fast forward to 2014, and put me in a cheap rental with food stamps , medicare and an iphone. I now have access to advanced medical care, instant 24 hour worldwide social interaction, shopping and gaming, a near infinite selection of music, movies, video, photography, books, magazines and blogs, and much of this free or very affordable. There is no question in my mind that this constitutes a quality of life revolution for all who have been immersed in the digital age.



The way we talk to each other, the way we think, have been profoundly affected by these innovations. I know that there is a wealth of new music, literature, movies, social contacts and intellectual exchanges that I continue to be exposed to on a daily basis, and that I never would have been had it not been for today's technologies. The fact that it has not made most of us wealthy yet is a problem, but how many of us would be willing to to trade a struggling middle class existence in 2014 for a time machine filled with gold bound for the year 1980?



I'm an optimist, and believe that, with the assistance of government working in conjunction with the private sector to boost skill levels, the middle class will again be prosperous. But even if I'm wrong about this, can you imagine what might be possible, in terms of quality of life, in a cheap rental 30 years from now with only the money to purchase the latest technology? IT might be enough to tempt a 1-percenter to leave his gold behind and point that time machine for 2044.

