Was 2008 the best year in history?
One of the recent economic articles kindof threw me off a little. I wanted to share with you an article from economic analyst Casey Mulligan. Casey is an economics professor at the University of Chicago and wrote this article for the NY Times. I know this is not an employment article however I feel that it could help some people to start their day with a brighter perspective. We will get through this economic mess. Many times it is about one’s perspective.
When measured in terms of financial gyrations and national employment, 2008 was an absolutely terrible year. When measured in terms of production, the United States economy in 2008 was the best in its history.
This week the Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its first estimate of gross domestic product for the fourth quarter of 2008. G.D.P. measures the total amount produced and spent in the nation during a particular time frame, such as a year or a quarter of a year. Some say that G.D.P. “is the best barometer of the country’s economic fitness.”
The first column of the table below shows G.D.P. for the four quarters of 2007. In 2007, United States G.D.P. was about $3,500 billion in each quarter, for an annual total of $13,807 billion. To put that in more personal terms, divide the last rows of the table by the total population: 2007 G.D.P. was $45,776 a person.
Source: Casey B. Mulligan; Bureau of Economic Analysis
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