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Source link: http://blog.mises.org/4080/msnbc-discovers-the-broken-window-fallacy/

September 9, 2005 by Dale Steinreich

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Of course there’s still some problems with this analysis, but it’s a pretty good start.

With regard to one of my earlier posts, maybe this calls for some optimism that they will eventually figure out who really owns the Fed.

{ 3 comments }

Mark F. September 10, 2005 at 5:02 am: The MSNBC article brings up a point that I’ve been thinking about lately. If GDP just measures economic activity as opposed to actual real growth in value then why should we care about it? It’s probably safe to say that when government states the economy “grew” 5% in a given year it’s a worthless, if not misleading number. Maybe I should steal my neighbor’s wallet, take the money, buy a broom at Home Depot, and sweep the town hall parking lot 40 hours a week. This should increase GDP. Government officials should be all for it, plus I’ll be guaranteed a “living wage”. Hey, I would be working 40 hours a week, so I deserve it, right? I’m sure they wouldn’t say my sweeping service is valued at less than a “living wage”. They wouldn’t make such a subjective value judgement, would they?
Ryan Fuller September 10, 2005 at 11:00 am: Government spending is considered “production” for purposes of calculating GDP. NNP is a more realistic, but less common, measurement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_National_Product
billwald September 12, 2005 at 7:40 pm: Was the Marshall plan a good idea for the American economy?

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