Letters to the Editor
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koko4kaka
Your letter annoyed me to no end, so let me be brief and unimaginative with my responses.
First:
GDP has been reported at a real, seasonally adjusted annual rate since like, oh, say... THE 14TH CENTURY. Get with the times here.
Second:
It's funny that you use the term "pseudo economist" in a derogatory sense, and then confuse devaluation with inflation. One refers the dollar's relation to other currencies, the other has to do with the rate of change on a price of a basket of goods. Do you know which is which, economist?
Third:
We don't want to be mathematicians. If I enjoyed abstract algebra or topology, I'd still be studying (and probably failing) it. Instead, I waste my life posting responses in Salon forums to people who are too lazy to read a good book. Like a book by someone with an article in a peer-reviewed journal. We're frustrated, but not because we want to be mathematicians.
Fourth:
"I have an idea, why don't these hacks get a real job instead of trying to defend a pyramidal scheme. Oh, and brush up on simple math... please!"
It's called a pyramid scheme. You know, like the Pyramids in Egypt? Sometimes also referred to as a Ponzi scheme. But I'm sure you knew that. And for a Ponzi scheme, we've done a pretty good of sustaining it for, oh, 200 years. That's pretty atypical of a Ponzi scheme. The only way I can understand your fear is if you told me that you lived through the Great Depression. If you don't believe me, take log GDP (yes, the REAL value) or log GDP per capita, and run a line through it. It's shockingly straight, which means Mr. "I know basic math", that we're growing at an exponential rate and have been for a REALLY long time now. Long before you or I were born.
As for the original post by Andrew:
There can be large data revisions, on occasion they even exceed 1 percent. Also, GDP data is more than a month behind and encompasses information as far back as July. The interest rate is forward looking and only incorporates previous information insofar as it forecasts future business conditions. Lastly, a lot of the growth is being generated by a shift in net exports (about 1%, last I checked)--as the currency readjusts, we don't want exporters not able to find reasonable financing to build more factories / hire more people / whatever.
Sorry for the anger, I must be in a bad mood today.