Top Line: US seasonally-adjusted real GDP grew $142b in the final quarter of last year.
That is 2.4% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate.
Not terrible, the long-term average is 3.1% and 2.4% is within the standard dev.
What IS disconcerting is HOW we got $142b in (ahem) “economic growth” last quarter.
Alongside the $142b total it should be noted
Americans withdrew a net $64b form personal savings (17% of total)
Medicaid and Medicare spending increased $29b
Medicare spending increased $30b
Another $37b was increases in what employers paid for benefits.
These four total $160b. If you break your leg and the taxpayer fixes it, is that “economic growth?” If someone breaks your window and the taxpayer fixes it, is that “economic growth?”
We are having more heart attacks (and paying for them)
We are breaking more hips (and paying for them)
We are taking money out of our personal savings accounts, whereas in the recent past we bough the same stuff and had money left over to put IN to personal savings.
Some people will use some very strange definitions and try to tell you this is "economic growth.
I suggest you should be very very skeptical of such people.
