Life is Better in places with lower GDP

This sounds like a "leadership" problem. I put leadership in quotes because there is a difference between leadership and management, so I'd say it's more of a management problem (with a lack of leadership).

Check out the books "The Growth Delusion" by David Pilling and "The Tyranny of Metrics" by Jerry Muller if you're interested in this topic.

I think this could potentially be a foundational problem in some western countries. Does a focus on GDP growth serve the people of the country, or does it serve someone else like (potentially foreign) shareholders?

Things like a mother staying home and taking care of her child instead of sending it to daycare, cooking meals at home versus buying from a restaurant both don't show up in GDP. The example in the article is breaking windows and having to pay to get them fixed. Doesn't really seem like a great measure of wealth to me...