Technology may not have delivered on the promise of a paperless office, but the effortless office may be far more valuable:
The productivity of American workers, the critical component for rising living standards, increased by 4.1 percent in 2004, capping a remarkable three-year period in which worker efficiency climbed at the fastest pace in a half century....Productivity, the amount of output produced for each hour of work, is the key factor in boosting living standards because it allows companies to pay their workers more based on their increased efficiency without having to resort to raising the price of their products, which would increase inflation.
Productivity's rate of increase fell during last year's fourth quarter, so it looks as though those complaining about less hiring due to high productivity just a few days ago can now have it both ways, even as jobless rates fall to record lows. No zero-sum game here!