> And why shouldn't the "Golden Age" be compared to the "Bubble Age,"
> especially since the "real GDP" numbers for the latter period are grossly
> distorted upwards?
>
> Shane Mage
(Sigh). The US government, for all its problems, does an excellent job researching and collating major economic data, especially GDP. The bloat of the FIRE sector pushed reported profits upwards, sure, but the GDP accounts aren't artificially boosted by bogus CDOs or derivatives of mass destruction. There's tons of real wealth being produced, but it's being expropriated by a tiny but very well organized US ruling class.
-- DRR