You hear the finance gurus on television often refer to the GDP as an indicator of how the economy is doing. It is a number used by investors. It refers to the “Gross Domestic Product”. Economists are talking about any recovery of the economy in terms of jobs, consumer spending, and our exports. All this time it is how and where we are spending money. The real indication of how the economy is doing is in what we produce that we can export, how much we spend and invest, and what we sell as opposed to what we buy. This is what is what makes up the gross domestic product.
The problem is that the way the GDP number is calculated is deceiving. The GDP = Consumption + Business investment + Government spending + Exports – Imports. You may hear economists on TV say that the GDP has grown lately, and that is a good sign that the economy is recovering. Next time you hear that you need to pause and think about how the GDP is calculated and what this means when we use it as an indicator of economic growth. Look at what is really happening in the economy and compare it to the growth in this number. It might explain a lot about why the current administration in Washington is convinced that government spending is the solution, and why it is deceiving everyone into believing them. Continue reading ‘How the Great GDP Hoax is Stealing Your Wealth’ »