The article goes off the rails pretty early: What matters for a nation is its GDP. That's a country's equivalent of personal income.
GDP is not income, it's a sum of flows. The classic illustrative example is a man marrying his maid:
Unmarried: Man earns $200k/year, pays his maid $25k/year. GDP = $225k.
Married: Man earns $200k/year, pays his wife $0. GDP = $200k.
In both cases, the ability of this pair of humans to service debt and purchase goods and services remains the same. Both couples are equally wealthy, you've just tweaked an accounting identity.
GDP is not income, it's a sum of flows. The classic illustrative example is a man marrying his maid:
Unmarried: Man earns $200k/year, pays his maid $25k/year. GDP = $225k.
Married: Man earns $200k/year, pays his wife $0. GDP = $200k.
In both cases, the ability of this pair of humans to service debt and purchase goods and services remains the same. Both couples are equally wealthy, you've just tweaked an accounting identity.