Note that even if by all practical terms a business isn’t growing, then it’s still growing.

Part of the whole deal is that there’s an intent for the money supply to change for a roughly 2% inflation. In an oversimplified sense, the idea self be that everything gets 2% more expensive, everyone gets 2% raises, and investments at least generate 2% returns.

We’ve basically decided that we need to trick ourselves into feeling progress by making “standing still” look like growth. So if someone had flat income year over year, they actually lost in real terms.