US to ‘rewrite economic history’ adding 3% to GDP

The US Bureau of Economic Analysis is revamping the way it estimates GDP to account for new international standards in a move that will add a cumulative GDP, according to the FT.

With the debt-to-GDP ratio near 100%, changing the way GDP side of the equation is far easier than the hard decisions needed to address the national debt.

“We are carrying these major changes all the way back in time – which for us means to 1929 – so we are essentially rewriting economic history,” said Brent Moulton from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The changes will take place in July but the news isn’t all good because pension liabilities will now appear in government deficits.