The FTC has been studying surveillance pricing since 2024 and recently its chairman told a Senate committee it may be time to review its disclosure rules for companies.
GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced in a country. A legal scam can hide as a service and get counted.
This is why cars are good for GDP but mass transit isn’t, because a lot more cost goes into a car than a bus on a per rider basis.
The same goes for health insurance. Simply paying a doctor for services is far less GDP than paying an insurance company who then pays the doctor after taking a cut.
Once you realize what GDP measures a lot of what countries do makes sense.
Each time money moves: one trade happened. Someone bought, someone sold something. It’s all activity. Money moving around fast: a lot of activity, people getting what they want. Money sitting still: stagnation, no work done, no production etc.
That’s the theory. Of course reality is a bit more complicated. People doing volunteer work is often net positive for humanity but won’t show up in economic metrics.
I’m in Vietnam at the moment, lots of people work simple manual jobs and just get by. They don’t have a lot, but they’re friendly, welcoming, and generally happy.
Meanwhile, the weekend before last I was in Singapore where loads of money is constantly moving around … and it did not feel like a good place to be.
I’m not disagreeing with you. I have held the belief that neoclassic theory of economics is bullshit since I studied it 20 years ago. I’m just explaining that bullshit which is still used to measure things like development, progress etc.
I’m not an economist, but this is probably technically true
GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced in a country. A legal scam can hide as a service and get counted.
This is why cars are good for GDP but mass transit isn’t, because a lot more cost goes into a car than a bus on a per rider basis.
The same goes for health insurance. Simply paying a doctor for services is far less GDP than paying an insurance company who then pays the doctor after taking a cut.
Once you realize what GDP measures a lot of what countries do makes sense.
A 300MM Ferrari and a 300MM new hospital generate the same GDP.
if i burn down your house, the gdp grows, because lot of people now have work rebuilding it.
Yup. But, that dollar changes hands far more times in the society with higher costs. That’s a good thing, assuming costs don’t dwarf income
Why is it good if it moves more?
Each time money moves: one trade happened. Someone bought, someone sold something. It’s all activity. Money moving around fast: a lot of activity, people getting what they want. Money sitting still: stagnation, no work done, no production etc.
That’s the theory. Of course reality is a bit more complicated. People doing volunteer work is often net positive for humanity but won’t show up in economic metrics.
There’s also the fact that a lot of those dollars moving are against people’s will or for stupid, inefficient reasons.
If we each paid each other a thousand bucks an hour not to hit each other then that grows GDP without doing anything useful.
Ok, but why should people get what they want?
I’m in Vietnam at the moment, lots of people work simple manual jobs and just get by. They don’t have a lot, but they’re friendly, welcoming, and generally happy.
Meanwhile, the weekend before last I was in Singapore where loads of money is constantly moving around … and it did not feel like a good place to be.
I’m not disagreeing with you. I have held the belief that neoclassic theory of economics is bullshit since I studied it 20 years ago. I’m just explaining that bullshit which is still used to measure things like development, progress etc.
Ah ok, gotcha now - thanks for clarifying :-)