It is so, so exciting - the new iPhone is here. I could not explain the new features to you. To paraphrase Steve Jobs' famous quip, you and I don't know what features we want until Apple shows us what is possible.
We live in an age of remarkable progress in so many parts of our lives. As an immigrant, that progress reminds me of why my family came here. It is inspiring. Yet in those parts of our lives that matter most, we seem stuck. That is why so many Americans have lost faith in better days. We need inspiration.
The latest release of Gross Domestic Product data- the value of the goods and services we all produce - gives reason for pessimism. Stagnant wages have been pushed backwards by anxious bosses, holding back all of us.
We are living through the weakest post-recession expansion since World War II. Six years in, the 1961 expansion increased the GDP (adjusted for inflation) by 40 percent. But today, six years in, the expansion increased GDP by just 14 percent.
Not surprisingly, most people - though not all - do not think better days are coming. Updated survey numbers from the Associated Press and University of Chicago study, "The Public Mood," are revealing.
People were asked if there was a good chance their standard of living would improve. Since 1992, whites have become markedly less optimistic than others. In 2014, 72 percent of Latinos and 66 percent of African-Americans were optimistic, while just 54 percent of whites were.
Here is what is interesting. Whites, generally better off, have become more anxious as their economic progress slowed. Latinos and African-Americans, most still struggling, have become more optimistic even with slow and fleeting progress.
We are indeed now all stuck, but none of us should lose faith. As an immigrant, I am a stubborn optimist. Since 1790, the real GDP per person has increased at a strong steady pace - 1.7 percent a year. It's remarkable.
There have been two significant interruptions in our economic progress - the Great Depression and the Great Recession. We got out of the mess back when. We will get out of it again.
We got out of then with a period of significantly higher GDP growth. This is why Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush's goal of dramatically increasing GDP - he is calling for a 4 percent annual increases - is so critical.
The former Florida governor's remarks set off a firestorm from 2016 Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, the Democrats and so-called progressives.
Yes, GDP is not a perfect measure of progress. The GDP does not count the damages done to our environment by blind progress nor does it measure so much of the good made possible by government.
And yes, we need a progressive policy agenda to tackle extreme inequality. The role of good policy is to set the rules to ensure that everyone who contributes to our prosperity, shares in that prosperity.
The minimum wage should become a living wage that can drive all our paychecks forward. Manufacturing workers -- especially in places like the old Jim Crow South -- should be allowed to band together in unions so they will share in the prosperity they contribute to.
And to get back to steady GDP growth we must stand up to the powerful corporate players who have rigged the economic system. Challenging skyrocketing CEO pay is not about envy - it is good for our economy.
In sum, as the Economic Policy Institute reminds us, giving folks more oomph to stand up to their anxious bosses will ensure that GDP increases become wage increases again. The right policies are critical.
Yet for so many of us who have lost faith, a new policy agenda is not exciting. Again, to paraphrase Steve Jobs, we need to show people what is possible. And to do that we just might need new leaders.
Perhaps the stubborn optimism of Latinos and African-Americans can now inspire worried whites so that we can finally work together as one people to tackle extreme inequality. We shouldn't let anyone divide us. We shouldn't let anyone hold us back.
Here is what is possible. From 2020 through 2060, if we get our economy back on track, if we tackle extreme inequality, during that time our real per person GDP will double - from $60,000 to nearly $120,000.
Yes, you can find forecasts by reputable economists that are lower than the 225-year trend. And yes, if we are all sharing our power tools, the official GDP will be less.
None of that refutes this simple but powerful point. Over the next generation we can achieve fantastic prosperity in this country. We will finally not just end poverty we will ensure everyone can attain the good life.
Mark Gomez is the founder of The Leap Forward Project at the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society. He is a long-time community and labor activist in California.