Compared with 40 years ago, Americans are better off in some ways and worse in many others.

The GDP is worthless as a measure of society's economic well-being. If a plutocrat gets a billion dollars of income by taking $100 in income away from each of 10 million working people, that is a big change for the worse, but the GDP registers it as no change. When an article presents GDP figures as if they mattered, that indicates a bad framing of the issues: Garbage In, Garbage Out.

Using the word "monetize" embodies and thus promotes the attitude that the article opposes.