What, no comment on your bogus chart?
And the fact that the GDP has grown at a steady rate since 1947....with the one blip (until 2007) occuring in 1974 as a result of the Arab oil embargo....when we should have begun rethinking our reliance on foreign oil and a comprehensive national energy plan...and a couple of small dips during the Reagan years
In 1974, the Japanese understood the need to retool its economy....it shifted from oil-intensive industries to electronics and, at the same time, its auto makers entered the US market by producing small, more fuel efficient cars and, for the first time, impacting US auto sales.
Economics 101, as tw noted, innovation breads productivity. Relying on the status quo leads to stagnation.