25 sats \ 1 reply \ @Bell_curve 11 Sep \ parent \ on: Is GDP an Accurate Measure of Reality? econ
But there is a zero sum effect with crime. One person benefits at the expense of the victim. It’s not a voluntary transaction
They count the spending in different places in these two cases, but it's the same idea.
You spend X on something that gets stolen. X counts towards GDP.
The government steals Y from you and spends it themselves. Y counts towards GDP.
It's conceptually the same mistake. X and Y weren't acquired voluntarily by their ultimate consumer, so we can't say that the consumption was worth X or Y.
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