How our governments lied: Migrants are NOT good for the economy
By ROBERT OSSENBLOK
VoiceOfEurope.com
29 July 2018
Definition of the Gross Domestic Product
GDP – Gross Domestic Product. It is the total economic output of a country in a given year. All products bought and sold, and services delivered and used. To put it in the words of Investopedia:
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period. Though GDP is usually calculated on an annual basis, it can be calculated on a quarterly basis as well (in the United States, for example, the government releases an annualized GDP estimate for each quarter and also for an entire year).
GDP includes all private and public consumption, government outlays, investments, private inventories, paid-in construction costs and the foreign balance of trade (exports are added, imports are subtracted). Put simply, GDP is a broad measurement of a nation’s overall economic activity – the godfather of the indicator world.
Governments Love It
Governments love publishing GDP data. All the time the strength of the economy is measured by its GDP. GDP growth by a few percentage? Perfect! That is what we need. GDP shrinks? Recession! Panic! The economy is crashing down! There is some truth to that logic, but it also creates a very false image.
GDP is important, but it is important for governments more than anyone else. Especially governments with poor spending habits. For the inhabitants of a country, GDP is not necessarily very meaningful. The government debt for example, is often measured as a percentage in ‘Debt to GDP’. The EU maintains that governments should have a debt to GDP ratio of no more than 60%.
“Growing GDP, still, does not mean all the people are becoming richer
Debt to GDP
The Rest…HERE
