Quote from bloosteak:
GDP is faked
I don't know if I'd say 'faked'. But fundamentally flawed.
Let's say we both get together tomorrow night for a drink.
I lend you $10 to pay for your drink, and you lend me $10 to pay for my drink. We each charge each other a $1 'loan fee'.
Under traditional measures of GDP, the loan transaction between us generated $2 in GDP.
Did exchanging $10 bills amongst each other really add any value to the economy? Did it improve living standards of anyone? Of course not. Its just a ruse.
In fact wealth was destroyed because now we each have to pay an accountant to account for the transaction. And we have to write down the terms of the loan on paper, which wastes paper and enriches someone with legal training.
