This whole thread and thought process is fascinating, because I will bet that the average American has no idea what economy America has, either. - ThreadSky

princejvstin.com • 29 days ago

This whole thread and thought process is fascinating, because I will bet that the average American has no idea what economy America has, either.

Reposted from Naomi Alderman

Britain has no idea - in terms of its self-image, not economists obviously - what economy it actually has

One of my favourite facts to point out is: at over £8bn annually, the *videogames industry* is more than twice as valuable to the UK economy as fishing and steel combined.

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fade.bsky.social•29 days ago

I remember memorizing principal exports of countries for a high school geography class and being so surprised by two of the three for the country I was living in. (Oil, shrimp, and flowers, at the time.) Oil was entirely obvious to me, the others virtually invisible to my experience.

princejvstin.com•29 days ago

oh yeah, I think that sort of education has fallen a bit by the wayside, but I remember a US state puzzle map that had major industries for each state on the state. Oil derricks and cattle for texas, etc.

masinger.bsky.social•29 days ago

I had a board game that included that, iirc.

catkimbriel.bsky.social•29 days ago

And Texas has a huge semi-conductor and software industry, plus it now leads in solar energy. (Ironic, but true, that last. GOP hates that, I think.)

kithrup.bsky.social•29 days ago

Only semi-related, but California is a *huge* state, with multiple major businesses -- farming, hollywood, and silicon valley are the top 3. Different governors have their own favorites, and you can *see* how the state's economies change based on that.

Also fuck Ahnuld.

anarin.bsky.social•29 days ago

Based on state government policy, I'd say Colorado is tourism (even if we want to see ourselves as tech).

bryanhansel.com•29 days ago

In the US, core outdoor recreation dwarfs mining and logging. It isn't even close.

princejvstin.com•29 days ago

and yet you, even more than I, since you live up there, see the twisted view that mining and logging is what makes the NE of Minnesota viable. That we need to do all sorts of nasty things to "support the communities in their time of need". It's a myth and a sense of self, not economic reality

bryanhansel.com•29 days ago

I agree. The main problem is that we subsidize tourism on the backs of its workers. Tourism jobs need to pay more and offer benefits. But there are far more jobs in tourism in northern Minnesota than there will be in mining.

gibbers.bsky.social•29 days ago

A lot of states have their identity tied up in specific industries that hold historical value but are no longer economic powerhouses.

Like in West Virginia, more people work in healthcare than coal by a wide margin.

princejvstin.com•29 days ago

there is this tension in Northern Minnesota--how many jobs are in lumber and mining (and even how many there could possibly be even if Trump strip mines the place) versus jobs in tourism and services.

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