On Wed, 2 Apr 2008 23:00:12 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:
snip
GDP is becoming a less reliable indicator
of how much people are feeling in general.
snip
===============
Indeed, as it is becoming increasingly evident that much of the
reported "profits" either never existed (as anyone in their right
mind would define a profit) or are were not (and never will be)
"repatriated" into the US economy, where they would be taxed.

Many of the "reported" profits seem to have been paper or book
only, i.e. trading a 5 billion dollar cat for 10 billion dollar
dog, and posting a 5 billion dollar "profit" on the transaction.
This goes a long way to "explaining" how the financial services
sector was able to generate 40% of all corporate profits.

The increasingly skewed distribution of the GDP is another
factor. The metric for this is called the GINI coefficient or
index. I know its hard to understand, but no matter how much
money the CEO pays himself, the ungrateful employees still insist
on feeling poor....


Unka' George [George McDuffee]
-------------------------------------------
He that will not apply new remedies,
must expect new evils:
for Time is the greatest innovator: and
if Time, of course, alter things to the worse,
and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better,
what shall be the end?

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman.
Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).