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Originally Posted by aceventura3
Come now, we know there are different ways to measure "economic growth". If "economic growth" is the increase in goods and services produced by an economy over time that is clearly "nominal".
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That is not nominal. That is real. If nominal GDP increases but real GDP doesn't all you had was a price increase across the board.
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And we can certainly talk about inflation adjusted "economic growth" or what they would call "real". But, then we could measure "economic growth" in terms of productivity gains or "economic growth" per capita, which may actually more accurately reflect the standard of living and in other ways. But regardless of how we split hairs here, nominal or real GDP is one commonly accepted measure of "economic growth".
All of this is kinda fun, but let's not loose focus on Obama's double speak. Assuming we actually have negative GDP growth of 1.2% that is nothing close to the Depression years, starting in 1930 - (8.6%), 1931 - (6.4%), 1932 - (-13%). In 1980 the decline was about (1.9%), in real terms. So, at the very least Obama's doom and gloom rhetoric does not match his budget.
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It is not splitting hairs. Economic growth is, by definition, real growth. There is no splitting hairs, and it is not a matter of opinion. A price increase is not actual growth.
An increase in prices is not economic growth. In fact, in a situation where there is hyperinflation, like Germany in the interwar period, nominal GDP increases very fast, but no one would call that economic growth, especially since actual production decreased.
People adjust GDP for inflation because price increases are not economic growth. Obama's budget clearly predicts a decrease of 1.2% in real GDP, which means that there is no economic growth. In fact, there is a decrease of 1.2% in the size of the economy.
If nominal gdp growth was economic growth, all the government would have to do was paint three additional zeros in every bill and the economy would grow 1000x.
Are the GDP provisions rosy? yes.
Did Obama actually predict economic growth? No, and there are no two ways about it.