The Marginal Propensity to Suck
There comes a time in every economist’s life when GDP just doesn’t cut it. When the so-called “innovators” are launching rockets to nowhere, dismantling public trust one post at a time, and hoovering up subsidies while yelling about freedom. At that moment, a new metric becomes not just useful, but necessary.
Introducing: The Marginal Propensity to Suck (MPSu).
This handy ratio lets you quantify just how much certain public figures contribute to the decay of our social, ecological, and democratic infrastructure relative to the value they claim to create.
Where:
E is extractive gain: think monopolising public platforms, dodging taxes, or selling overpriced subscriptions to chaos.
C is civic degradation: algorithmic rage, mass layoffs framed as “efficiency,” and anti-worker tirades from private jets while playing computer games.
D is democratic harm: buying media to gut it, cosplaying as free speech messiahs, or just casually undermining elections.
V is value. If any exists.
If MPSu > 1, they’re doing more harm than good. If it’s undefined (V = 0), congratulations: you’ve found the event horizon of suck!
Elon and Donald? They’re neck and neck in the infinite suck league. One tweets constitutional collapse from the golf course, the other livestreams conspiracy from his billionaire bunker. Both feed on public systems they pretend to despise.
But MPSu isn’t just about the famous. It’s a tool for everyday resilience. Use it to spot extractive consultants, crypto libertarians, or private equity wizards promising to “disrupt” your water supply.
In short, MPSu tells you what GDP won’t: not who’s winning, but who’s wrecking the place on their way out.