TIME Features NDN Economic Analysis, Chart, Labels It "Most Important Chart in American Politics"

In a new piece for Time Magazine, author Michael Scherer profiles the work of NDN/New Policy Institute, labeling a chart which is a distallation of years of economic analysis, "The Most Important Chart In American Politics" 

The story details the influence NDN's chart and analysis had on the Obama White House and re-election campaign, something first reported in Scherer's landmark 2012 Person of the Year profile of newly re-elected President Barack Obama. From the piece:

"“There is a single chart — three colored lines on a grid — that shapes the political reality of this country. During the 2012 campaign, one of President Obama’s senior strategists called it “the North Star” and started his internal PowerPoint presentations with it…..The chart tracks three economic trends in the U.S. over the last two decades, between 1992 and 2009. The first two lines — productivity and per capita gross domestic product — are rising. This is the unmistakable American success story, the one reflected in record corporate profits, growing wealth accumulation and the unmatched efficiency of this country’s economy. The third line tracks median household income, as measured by the U.S. Census. It shows the story of frustration and stagnation that so many Americans long ago accepted as a reality…. The chart was originally created by NDN and the New Policy Institute, and it helped Democrats change the way they talked about the frustration of the American people.”"

This economic analysis about the weakening of the historic relationship between GDP growth, productivity gains and jobs and wages was developed by NDN/NPI Globalization Chair Dr. Rob Shapiro.  This analysis was initially developed for Shapiro's prescient book, "Futurecast: How Superpowers, Populations, and Globalization Will Change the Way You Live and Work."  It was also featured in this 2005 essay, "Crafting A Better CAFTA", this 2007 paper, "The New Landscape of Globalization: How America Can Reap Its Rewards and Reduce Its Costs." The chart referenced by Scherer was developed for and first released in a 2009 NDN paper authored by Jake Berliner, "A Lost Decade for Everyday Americans," and can also be found here

NDN is also proud of this story in the British newspaper, The Guardian, which details our long collaboration with the Labour Party and the impact this work has had over there. A recent piece in The Economist features the British version of the chart, and cites NDN's influence in the thought behind it.

Dr. Shapiro's analysis has also been recently featured here in the US in Jim Tankersley's prominent article in the Washington Post.  

For the slide in our presentation, please see the attached file at the bottom of this page.

For recent essays by Dr. Shapiro on this topic, please review the following:

The American Dream is in Big Trouble, February 21, 2013

WaPo Op-ed: Weak Job Creation has Become the New Normal, February 13, 2013.

The Lessons of Today's Troubling Report on GDP, January 30, 2013.

What Actually Happened to the Earnings of Working Americans, And What The Next President Can Do About It, October 31, 2012.

Wage and Salary Growth in the United States: Average Americans Made Steady Progress for Two Generations, Until the Last Decade, October 25, 2012.

GOP Revisionism: Rewriting Economic History Against Obama, August 17, 2012.

How Much Credit Can Obama Claim on the Economy?, June 21, 2012.

An Economic Program for the Fall Campaign and the Next Four Years, June 4, 2012.