Reply To: Debt

#18107
jmherbener
Participant

Economic progress occurs when we have more and better consumer goods to enjoy. Because consumer goods are heterogeneous, it isn’t possible to scientifically measure economic growth. GDP is a crude attempt at a metric of our capacity to produce final goods and services. Private Product Remaining is a better metric, because it nets out of GDP, the influence of government.

http://mises.org/daily/2231/

GDP in 2012 was $16.2 trillion. In other words, the production of final goods and services in the United States during 2012 was $16.2 trillion. We do produce things. Exports minus Imports in 2012 was -$535 billion. So our trade deficit was 3.3 percent of GDP. Surely, these facts do not warrant the conclusion that “we don’t produce anything.”