Well, you can show stunning growth in output if you first take major steps to destroy the capacity to produce output, a mission that two Bush's embarked on with gusto.

Unfortunately, they were convinced by their own ideology that dictates the earth's supply of cheap oil is infinite, and focused entirely on the fact oil prices were unprofitably low without noticing all those oil fields brought into production around the world in the 70s were in steep output decline.

And perhaps the other thing they missed was the idea that anyone outside North America and Europe know what a car was, how to drive one, much less own one. All Chinese are people who wear funny clothes and a funny hat and stoop over in rice paddies; how could they know how to drive a car.

In any case, the bargain struck in the 70s was to open up new regions for oil production while the world redirected its industry to sustainable energy: highly efficient buildings, cars, factories with efficiency standards like CAFE and EnergyStar; solar and wind power, geothermal. etc; and then invention and innovation related to such things as biofuels and new materials. Reagan rejected the bargain and tried to kill it. And the conservatives worked effectively against it during the Clinton years.

So, what was forecast in the 70s has as Rev Wright hear the phrase on FOX news, "the chickens have come home to roost."