>> What is the deficit? Revenue, profit, balance sheet, something
>> else?
>
> It's a macro identity: the difference between income and consumption, less
> investment. It's also the sum of the government deficit and net exports.
Thanks. My bad! I read his reference to private sector, and I was thinking accounting when I should have been thinking economics.
> According to the most recent NIPA tables, in the 3rd quarter consumption
> increased by 1% (annualized) while investment decreased by 10.5%
> (annualized). Accounting for their relative weights in GDP, this means that
> the private sector deficit increased by about .2% in that quarter.
Fabulous. You've really highlighted Seth's cause for alarm. The private sector deficit is rising because investment is falling while consumption is rising, an unattractive combination.
Thanks for mentioning NIPA. That's a great resource:
http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/dn/nipaweb/SelectedTables.asp?Selected=Y#S3?Selected=Y
Chris