The golden age of cheap goods and rapid economic growth is officially over. Driven by a retiring baby-boomer workforce, aggressive geopolitical decoupling, and the soaring costs of the green energy transition, the West is sleepwalking into a decade of "Stagflation-Lite". Prepare for a new reality defined by chronic labor shortages, permanently higher prices, and sluggish output. Our only potential escape route? A massive productivity miracle fueled by the AI revolution