This is America
I would love to see some real GDP numbers for western countries, at this point I don't trust any numbers coming from neoliberal governments.
It's likely real, it's just that most of the "value" is just some rock that someone traded for 10 sticks and someone else is offering 20 sticks for it because they heard another person say that it will be worth 50 sticks in a couple of years.
Soo.. not real. We know there's heavy manipulation of GDP and unemployment numbers, it's been part of the neoliberal playbook for more than 3 decades. 1 example that comes to mind is how house loans are also calculated as paying rent so that this will show up as financial activity further inflating GDP.
Edit: 3 decades not 30 :D
Yes, but "real" as in, based on actual, verifiable data. It's just that it's all interpreted through capitalist ideology, such the example I gave is "creating value."
"It's not a lie... if you believe it."
the economy is like the trolly problem, only every inch of track is filled with people and the train's track loops back around as more people pile onto the track. but that lever still does something, it's what they call the "invisible hand" of the free market because even though it's there, and you can switch tracks, it doesn't actually matter if you pull it or not.
