What the fuss about GDP?

A few Quick GDP thoughts:

#Why we are obsessed with the GDP number, but not bothered how - our Wasteful Petrol Imports,

Obsessive Gold Imports and decline in exports due to global slowdown - impact this number!!?

#Is the powerful 'Private Industry/Business Lobby' trying to extract Tax Benefits from Govt.

by paying for the Artificial Bad News and painting the economic gloom all over?..

#Govt. Spending - A major contributor to GDP, has only Incrased in all these years. Government

surely is doing it's bit!

#What is private sector's contribution? A bankrupt airline?.. A formula one Race Track?

Obsessive Profiteering and amassing private wealth?..

#Why Media never talks about the approach used at deriving the GDP and the alternate

approaches available for GDP calculations?

#I don't even know if the GDP numbers that Media talks are calculated using Production, Income Or Expenditure Approach.

#Why is 'GNP' not talked about?

For more information about GDP:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product

Check this out!! Purchasing Power Parity:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/GDP_PPP_.pdf

# Points to Note:

Non-market transactions–GDP excludes activities that are not provided through the market, such as household production and volunteer or unpaid services. As a result, GDP is understated.

Underground economy–Official GDP estimates may not take into account the underground economy, in which transactions contributing to production, such as illegal trade and tax-avoiding activities, are unreported, causing GDP to be underestimated.

Asset Value–GDP does not take into account the value of all assets in an economy. This is akin to ignoring a company's balance sheet, and judging it solely on the basis of its income statement.