Subject: GDP is unscientific and unfair for poor people. by Ju-chang He
All bourgeois economists are crafty and evil. They are all cheaters. It is because they use only GDP to measure the whole economic situation of a country and make its government pay no attention to the living standards of poor people so as to keep them in poor condition for ever.
Nowadays, most countries all over the world use Gross Domestic Product to judge the economic growth of a certain country and, according to this GDP, calculate this country's economic growth rate.
When there appears a large GDP and a high economic growth rate of 9% a year in a country, economists will say that the economy is great and the financial officers will be proud of it. But I will still say that the economy is bad. It is because poor people's living standards haven't been raised. There are still a lot of people suffering from cold and hunger. They can't afford to send their children to school, and, as a result, too many children are deprived of education. If I say that the economy is bad, the government has got to make every effort to raise the living standards of poor people. If economists say that the economy is great, there seems no need for the government to raise the living standards of poor people.
When there is a small GDP and a negative economic growth rate of -2% a year, economists will say that the economy is bad and the financial officers will be ashamed of it. And then the government has got to make every effort to raise GDP, but not the living standards of poor people. Therefore, it appears that GDP is for the rich to hoodwink poor people to keep them poor. GDP as a measure of the whole economic situation for a country is unscientific, because it does not tell the whole story; and unfair for poor people, because it leaves them out of prosperity.
The kernel of this issue is what economists use GDP to measure: the whole economic situation, or just the volume and production of goods sold? It is very clear that economists use GDP to measure the whole economic situation, not just the volume and production of goods sold. When there is a large GDP and a high economic growth rate, they will say that the economy is great and the financial officers will be proud of it although the living conditions of poor people is very bad and needs improving. They don't pay any attention to the living conditions of poor people. So there is no need for the government to raise the living standards of poor people. Therefore we say that GDP, as a measure of the whole economic situation, is unscientific and unfair for poor people, and GDP is merely a means used for the rich to hoodwink poor people to keep them poor.
What Should We Do to Raise the Living Standards of Poor People?
First, I'd like to prove that GDP is unscientific and unfair for poor people. GDP is for the rich to hoodwink poor people. Then, instead of GDP, we use the living standards of the people to measure the whole economic situation of a country <http://sites.netscape.net/juchang/fourthaa.html#find>. Next, we can carry on state regulations and give guidance of market <http://sites.netscape.net/juchang/marketaa.html#chart>. In this way, the market will produce enough consumer goods of the first and second grade. According to today's productivity, it is not difficult to produce enough consumer goods of the first and second grade. The government should make laws to fix a minimum wage level in accordance with the economic situation of the country and make it clear that the wages of all the workers oughtn't to be lower than this level. The government should distribute relief fund among the unemployed and cripple. Therefore the living standards of poor people will undoubtedly be raised.
If the government refuses to raise the living standards of poor people, we can call it a cheater-government. Then the government has every reason to regard a rise of the living standards of poor people as a matter of first importance.
In order to use the living standards of the people instead of GDP to measure the whole economic situation of a country, I'd like to offer a criterion of how to measure the living standards of the people:
People's living standard can be divided into four grades. The first grade is necessary consumption of education, clothing, food, housing and transportation. The second grade is ordinary consumption, which means buying some more clothes and purchasing TV sets and washers, etc. The third grade is extravagant consumption, which means going to hotels, restaurants and dancing-halls and taking cars, etc. The fourth grade is over-extravagant consumption.
Therefore we should use the living standards of poor people and the sufficiency of the first and second grade consumer goods as the criterion to judge the economic situation of one country and the achievements of its government. Only when poverty is eliminated, may we say that the social economy is developed. Only when the living standards of the low-income people is improved, will we be able to take just and accurate measurement of the economic growth of a country. So, the economic growth of a certain country can't be measured by GDP, which is really unscientific and unfair for poor people.
Sincerely, Ju-chang He E-mail address: chang at public.shenzhen.cngb.com SHENZHEN, P.R. CHINA Welcome to My Homepage <http://sites.netscape.net/juchang/>