Economist Ellen Russell’s column in the September/October issue of THIS suggests that the near universally accepted standard of “success” for economies—growth (yay!)—may be a little naive. She asks the tough question: Is economic growth good?

I leave it to the economics majors out there to answer.

On the other hand, I have indulged my love of Excel to create this strangely one-coloured chart, based on the numbers quoted by Russell in her article (warning, we’re edging dangerously close to real journalism here—I’m making charts). To me these stats, gathered between 1991 and 2001, a time when I was fully engaged with the Canadian economy (as I remain), suggest a more dude on the street type question: is economic growth enough?

If I ain’t seeing the growth in my actual wage, or in the amount the government spends on programs to support me as a citizen, where exactly is the growth going?

(don’t say deficit, don’t say deficit…)