What Inflation Number is used to calculate GDP

[jclay2]

I was just wondering what inflation number the government uses to report Real GDP? According to the government we have had an increase in Real GDP of .6%. I suspect they used some bogus low inflation number to get that. Does anyone else know? I am guessing that if the correct number were used, we would have -gdp.

 

[Truth Warrior]

Whatever they choose to "make up", to "look good" and "on the job".

 

[hawks4ronpaul]

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GDP_deflator .


http://hawks4ronpaul.blogspot.com/2008/02/economics-experts-endorse-ron-paul.html

 

[Paulitician]

They overstate economic activity, understate unemployment, understate inflation etc. Their numbers are completely bogus.

 

[Fight-n-Mad]

John Williams has an interesting piece about how this data is manipulated. http://www.shadowstats.com/article/57

Due to a lack of good-quality hard data, the "advance" GDP report is little more than a guesstimate...

...The estimation process does not improve much with the "preliminary" and "final" estimates. The BEA reports that 90% of ultimate revisions to the "final" estimate fall within a range of +3.1% to -2.6%. Where average growth has been about 3.5% over the years, that means that most reporting is not statistically significant.

IOW, the GDP data is pretty much meaningless.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

It's all a SCAM...

BTW, FEB 2008 reported the highest INCREASE in Government PAYCHECKS/HIRING: The 2nd highest ever INCREASE in GOVERNMENT workers in history!

77,000 new government workers across the nation... and how do we support their "BIG GOVERNMENT and SALARIES?

Unemployment records are way skewed considering the FEDS include hiring of all goverment employees into the mix and remove unemployed workers who have exhuasted/ended their UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

So is this Nazi Germany or Soviet Stalin Propaganda we utilize today?

 

[Scribbles]

...
Unemployment records are way skewed considering the FEDS include hiring of all goverment employees into the mix and remove unemployed workers who have exhuasted/ended their UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

Unemployment number also doesn't take into account how many people are underemployed. Underemployment is a growing problem in this country where crappy service sector jobs for minimum wage have been taking the place of productive industry in the job numbers.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

I was just wondering what inflation number the government uses to report Real GDP? According to the government we have had an increase in Real GDP of .6%. I suspect they used some bogus low inflation number to get that. Does anyone else know? I am guessing that if the correct number were used, we would have -gdp.

In the report recently released with 0.6% GDP growth. they acknowledge an inflation rate of 3.5%... Now of course thats an absurdly low inflation number but if you figure that in to GDP, then youve got a negative growth of -2.9%

 

[Truth Warrior]

I just love D.C. "Newspeak" spin, "negative growth" is a very good example. Another good, long time favorite is "spending cuts", aka a decrease in the rate of growth.