Lagging Indicator

The entire economy is a lagging indicator of a bunch of stuff, mostly indeterminate, amorphous and harder-to-quantify things such as justice, social well-being, responsible living and the reasonable and measured use of natural resources. Our society is mostly a reflection of the relatively decent, hard working people who went before us and not the pigs that we are. The society we are creating, the one reflecting our values, will be unlivable.