GDP Is A Scam

Gross Domestic Product is a scam. Okay, not really GDP itself. What I mean is the expectation of GDP always growing is a scam, like much of capitalism.

According to Britannica, GDP is “Gross domestic product (GDP), total market value of the goods and services produced by a country’s economy during a specified period of time. It includes all final goods and services — that is, those that are produced by the economic agents located in that country regardless of their ownership and that are not resold in any form.”

Notice the words, “all goods and services”. The problem with this is that we are producing fewer and fewer goods. Most of our economy is based on services. Services fewer and fewer Americans can afford to purchase.

Services. Part of those services include financial services. Such as stock trading. In my opinion, this should not be included in the GDP at all. Stock trading produces nothing of value. While it is claimed that GDP does not include anything for resale, a stock trade is considered a new product with each trade. It is counted as one product when you purchase a stock and a new product when you sell that same stock. Which artificially inflates GDP.

Gas and oil. Oil is one of America’s top 3 exports. That counts toward GDP. Oil is also one of our top 3 imports. That does not subtract from GDP. Instead, it inflates the GDP of the country selling us the oil we import. I’ve pointed this out before and ask the question again. Do you feel like you’re getting played? That’s because you are.