Are productivity data releases based on pump-up number games?
Here’s another article, from the Grandfather Productivity Report at http://mwhodges.home.att.net/product.htm We often wondered how some could claim historic high productivity growth at the same time the economy was producing record high private sector debt ratios, record low savings and profits, and soaring international debts from historic high trade deficits. Now we know such productivity claims were bogus – – as they had to be. Following proves the point. Recent government data releases make it seem that productivity growth picked up a bit in the last several years. Dr. Kurt Richebacher (former chief economist of the Dresdner Bank in Germany) of The Richebacher Letter (June 1999, and October 2000) points out reported productivity was substantially enhanced by way of downward revisions in the calculation of the inflation rate since 1995 – – (without cranking back the new method into data for prior years). Additionally – over the years 1996-98, U.S. GDP was reported to have increased
