The Trump administration may exclude government spending from GDP, obscuring the impact of DOGE cuts

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

The Trump administration may exclude government spending from GDP, obscuring the impact of DOGE cuts

By JOSH BOAK
Updated 12:36 PM EST, March 2, 2025

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn.

“You know, that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel's “Sunday Morning Futures.” “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.”

Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the U.S. economy's health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because changes in taxes, spending, deficits and regulations by the government can impact the path of overall growth. GDP reports already include extensive details on government spending, offering a level of transparency for economists.

Musk's efforts to downsize federal agencies could result in the layoffs of tens of thousands of federal workers, whose lost income could potentially reduce their spending, affecting businesses and the economy at large.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-gdp-economy-government-spending-lutnick-7414ba1bd441bd4bf64620bfd66923b2

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Fascists try to hide statistics, but business depends on them & the people can see job losses around them

We're not quite there yet, but when the job losses mount, the people will know.

Further, they can hide government decline somewhat, but people will know when services are disrupted or not reliable or unavailable or useless.

And more: government job terminations have multiplier ripple effects in the economy.

[AnnaLee]

2. Duh

I want to meet the budget surgeon that can split those cojoined budgets honestly and accurately. Duh, no independence of the variables or, else, I am not as savy as I think I am.

Let's use math in our electric unmixer. Smashed banana come back to me whole. Milk return now pure. What fun.

[slightlv]

3. This type of assessment has to be done by a professional

economics person, IMO. trumps people... ALL of them... are dumb as a post. If they can't figure out tariffs will bury us, how in the world do they think they can accomplish this? Hang on... this admin is worse than I thought it would be. WWIII, global depression (like the 1930s), bread lines, and Hoovervilles. Everything old is new again.