fact checking

[tectonic_drift]

I was a little surprised that my comment in the NPR community did not generate more discussion. But then that silence is telling in itself. I suppose I am used to noticing these things on occasion, but this bit about the economy just struck me as so oddly inaccurate.

Comments

[nyuanshin]

%GDP growth isn't really a measure of the health of an economy; by that standard China has a healthier economy than the US. Absolute GDP per capita is. Nonetheless a drop in growth rates like that is pretty significant, especially given the large rebound the next year. Clearly there was some sort of anomaly, but we should be wary of post hoc ergo propter hoc when dealing with complex systems like economies. At the very least you'd need to look for as many possible other economically significant events that coincided with it, and then come up with a convincing story.

[tectonic_drift]

Sure, I agree. And I think that same argument can be made for Feifer’s comment.

[mcfnord]

OH MY GOD DID U SEE TERRY GROSS' NEW HAIR???

[tectonic_drift]

Yes, I suppose to most my comment was less important than Terry's hair.
I am as guilty as Feifer for not explaning my motivations.