Arguments over #prosperity have always depending heavily on which statistics were being ignored, and this article makes this abundantly clear. But there's a graver concern: "educational attainment over the last 30 years has risen far more slowly in the U.S. than in much of the industrialised world... [Whilst] Americans between the ages of 55 and 65 have literacy, numeracy and technology skills that are above average ... Younger Americans, those between 16 and 24, are not keeping pace, [and] rank near the bottom amongst rich countries, well behind their counterparts in Canada, Australia, Japan, Scandinavia..."
As educators know well, it points to a much more serious condition that is difficult, if not impossible, to reverse.