Is There a Better Way to Measure the Economy?

The health of our economy is measured by a number of statistics, and the biggest is the Gross Domestic Product... but can it be trusted?

Two Cents is hosted by Philip Olson, CFP® and Julia Lorenz-Olson, AFC®
Directors: Katie Graham & Andrew Matthews
Written by: Andrew Matthews
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Produced by: Katie Graham
Edited & Animated by: Dano Johnson
Fact checker: Yvonne McGreevy
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell

Images by: Shutterstock
Music by: APM
Two Cents is a production of Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios

sources:

[tonysilke]

More and more people might face a tough time in retirement. Low-paying jobs, inflation, and high rents make it hard to save. Now, middle-class Americans find it tough to own a home too, leaving them without a place to retire.

[irishpolyglot]

I'm from Ireland and our GDP per capita (2nd highest in the world) is definitely not trustworthy, since it's nearly entirely Apple and Google's international tax workarounds not impacting the local population.

[MaryLawson]

The economy is grappling with uncertainties, global fluctuations, and pandemic aftermath, causing instability. Rising inflation, sluggish growth, and trade disruptions need urgent attention from all sectors to restore stability and stimulate growth.

[prettypic]

My mother’s great uncle was a statistician for the Mayo Clinic, and he told her something very important when she was a child: “you can make statistics say whatever you want”. A single number or study never tells the whole story

[stewarthoi]

4:30 People really need to realize this. For example, if I sell a used screwdriver to my neighbor for $1 trillion, and he sells me his half bag of Oreo cookies for $1 trillion, we have immediately just increased the US GDP by $2 trillion.

[smallmj]

I'm old enough to remember when all the talk was about GNP, not GDP.

[MegaLhammond]

😂 Philipp’s style has changed so much from season 1

[calebhermann]

Love your content. Thanks for consistently making these videos!

[asartalo]

Always look forward to your videos. Thank you for what you do!

[dosadoodle]

How about we focus on median income of working age adults? GDP is a metric that rewards a polarized income in society by keeping a larger set of the population desperate to keep working, while median income focuses on the center of the distribution and opportunities that are attainable for most people willing to think creatively about how to improve their situation.

This metric would have signaled the severe problems of the US economy that has disproportionately pushed gains since ~1980 to the top 1% (thank you, Ronald!).

[SimmerFerdon]

*I feel Investors should exercise caution with their exposure and.exercise caution when considering new investments, particularly during periods of inflation. It is advisable to seek guidance from a professional or a licensed expert in order to navigate this recession and achieve potential high yields*

[StrawbrryDath]

unrelated but i love how the couple is “morphing” into totally different people

[kanicshep]

Your videos will always be sheer joy to watch

[MoneyGist]

That's why you don't look at GDP alone.

Same way you can't tell a child is healthy just because he's growing chubbier.

Still, if that child starts losing weight uncontrollably, you know for sure that you need to see a doctor.

[RockResilient]

I guess I fell in love with this channel. I've watched at least 20 videos(for some multiple times) in last 2 weeks. Your videos are quite informative, understandable and sincere.

[SimGunther]

That "No" was 7min 9sec too long

[johnjakson]

The recent articles by the media comparing the UK as having a far worse GDP than the poorest state in the US ie Mississippi has more than convinced me that US based GDP metric is useless.

Having lived more tthan half my life in the richest states of the US, I choose to return to the UK for many reasons other than GDP. The weather in both MA and MS is incredibly oppressive in Winter and Summer, while in England it is simply mild and boring. When you can not leave the house for 6 months in the US which forces you to use a car for everything while in the UK you can live without a car year round speaks volumes. So when Americans add in cars to the GDP it helps the US GDP while it makes the UK look poor when the reverse is true. But the UK has very different problems to Mississipi.

[paigeresch]

My understanding is that GDP also includes spending on healthcare, pollution cleanup, rebuilding after a disaster, interest on loans, etcetera. So even if you're spending money on a bad thing, it's good for the GDP. And saving for the future is theoretically bad for it because then you're not spending it.

[wangtoriojackson]

Oh, at first I thought the title said "Can You Trust the GOP?" I was like, no, no you cannot trust the GOP.

[ashwindatta]

I NEED Andrew's shirt. where did you get it from??