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A comment on Payroll employment rises by 353K in January; unemployment rate remains at 3.7%. Parent comment

Re:Payroll employment rises by 353K in January; unemployment... by throw0101d on Friday February 02, 2024 @10:13AM (#39229494)
> So most of regular infrastructure does not add anything to GDP, public schools for example.

But building a new school, or bridge, or factory, or repaving a road to fix potholes, does add to GDP.

GDP is a measure of economic activity, and having positive activity is generally a good thing. (Though some is not: if there's an oil spill, that will increase economic activity due to having to spend money on the clean-up measures.)

> Positive GDP is an important measure on Capitalist system but it does not reflect fully in the life of most poor people.

If you think poor people have a hard time with positive GDP, do you think they'll have a better time when it's negative?

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Re:Payroll employment rises by 353K in January; unemployment... by leereeves on Friday February 02, 2024 @05:25PM (#39235288)
The problem is that GDP doesn't measure the distribution of economic activity.

And reducing economic inequality might reduce GDP even as it improves the lives of poor people. Forcing people to work harder is good for GDP even if it isn't the best thing for the workers.

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