July 2026 Newsletter

GDP – A Snapshot of American Prosperity

GDP is the total value of all finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders, usually calculated on a calendar-year basis. For 2025, the U.S. recorded a total of $30.77 trillion, representing a growth rate of 2.1% over the previous year.

More importantly, our per capita GDP was $89,680. Adjusted for inflation, that figure was $39,835 in 1990. What that tells us is that our standard of living has nearly doubled.

The inflation-adjusted average wage in 1990 was $43,000. In 2025, that figure stood at $62,088 — almost 50% higher over the past 35 years.

U.S. vs. the World

First, we must set aside small-population countries (Ireland, Switzerland, etc.), since their GDP is divided by a much smaller number. China has grown from essentially zero to roughly $19 trillion. (We have to take their word for it.) The United States remains in the top spot at approximately $30 trillion.

Is our continued prosperity guaranteed? No. Can we continue to grow, become more efficient, and aspire to greater prosperity? Yes. I would argue that the only thing holding us back is ourselves.

China’s dystopian mercantile experiment is still playing out. Has it delivered economic gains for the Chinese people? It has — so far — but at the expense of almost all individual freedoms of movement, speech, opinion, and more. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness remain unattainable for the average Chinese citizen.

One more freedom we enjoy that they surely do not: we can complain, call out problems, demonstrate, vote, and contribute to candidates — anything we want — when it comes to how our government is run. My hope is that it stays that way. There is no monolithic national identity or opinion in the U.S. Thank goodness for that.

I would maintain that these freedoms we enjoy directly contribute to our standard of living. Our economy is based on free enterprise. If there is a way to make money in this country, someone is most likely already doing it. Competition, hard work, and good old-fashioned greed have driven our economy. Hopefully that will continue well into the future.

Since we are just past our 250th birthday, it doesn’t hurt to reflect on how lucky we are. Here’s to another 250 years.

The S&P 500 is up about 10% so far in 2026. My hope is that the AI boom will smooth out gradually and that we won’t see too much speculation. Corporate profits have been strong, so overall stock valuations are not out of control. The S&P 500 is trading near a 20 P/E ratio, which is about average. For comparison, in February 2000 (at the height of the dot-com boom), the average S&P 500 P/E reached almost 30.

Thanks, Andy McClung, CFP®

Sources: Google.com/search, Investopedia.com, Wall Street Journal (July 8, 2026)

2026 Market Results – 07/08/26