Quote:
Originally Posted by Shazam
Let's take an exception and make it the rule.
No one in their right mind would ever dismiss GDP growth. Yet here you are. I get your life is awesome, who the hell cares about anybody else. Yeah that Uber driver sure has a great life ahead. Maybe give him your high paying job?
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It's not an exception. Tax havens and countries with tons of companies headquartered there will tend to have inflated GDPs because economic activity that is largely generated outside the jurisdiction gets credited there.
And no one's dismissing GDP growth; I'm saying it's flawed when comparing different jurisdictions (e.g. Ontario and Mississippi have similar GDP per capitas, therefore the quality of life is comparable). That doesn't mean it's useless or anything, but it should be used to measure what it's intended for, which is a rough approximation of the size of a jurisdiction's economy and how much tax can be raised from it. GDP is not meant to measure welfare; economists have been clear on that forever, and the Statement of National Accounts even devotes much of its first chapter talking about that.