Direct from the Commerce Department, the White House, and the mainstream media to you.
GDP comes in at 4% for the second quarter, first quarter revised upward, the consumer’s alive and well and God’s in his heaven all’s right with the world.
End of column…………….not quite
In typical 44th style, there’s more to see than meets the eye.
2 ½% of the 4% is comprised of the old standby inventories and fixed investments. Not that we sell anything mind you, we simply continue to accumulate stuff on the premise that in the future people will flock to the stores. Of course, don’t tell Family Dollar or Staples that, as it would appear they were misguided in closing all those stores. To take inventory count to a new art form, because of incomplete June data, it was all a guestimate. –WWB
Several quarters ago we changed the GDP makeup by including the dollar value of creativity, not to be confused with research and development. Apparently Miley Cyrus was once again at work contributing to the nation’s health. Note: Yours truly also took the liberty to do a guestimate.
Since the recalibration of what is included in the GDP achieved some degree of success, the BEA figured to do the same for the past 5 years. Whalah! The first quarter print of negative 2.9%, usually closed after the third announcement, was miraculously changed to negative 2.1%. -WWB
The biggest surprise, or perhaps not, was the reawakening of the consumer as he unleashed his spending with a vengeance. Not to be outdone by his neighbor, and his neighbor’s new car, trucks and autos became the purchase of choice in the revitalized 2nd quarter. The replacement of cars for houses by the subprime buyer and the calculation of a car produced, as the equivalent of car purchased makes me wonder why the personal goods consumption was only up 6.2%. -WWB
I could go on but, like my brethren in the mainstream media, I thought that you could only handle the highlights. Therefore, the 2nd quarter GDP conclusion.
In giving the answer to what does 2+2 equal:
The attorney responded - define plus and equal
The accountant said - it’s a pretty gray area
The Commerce Department official asked - What do you Want it to Be?
Yes! This quarter’s GDP report has become the
WWB