The government may have been instrumental to the US economy growing in the third quarter (did we say may: generating over 30% of the annualized 2.0% "growth" in Q3 probably qualifies as was absolutely instrumental in this impartial, apolitical datapoint), but the bottom line is that there was a cost. There is always cost. And a number: the number is $15.776 trillion, which was the absolute GDP number as of September 30, 2012 (to be revised lower in one month). This means we can now calculate what total US Debt-GDP was as of 3 weeks ago. And with the DTS reporting that debt was $16.16 trillion as of the day the third quarter ended (net of the SSN funding adjustment, which of course is always reported the first day of the next quarter for window dressing purposes), it means that total US Debt-to-GDP was 102.4%. And obviously rising much faster as since the Second Great Depression it takes well over $2 in debt for every $1 increase in GDP. Because there never is such a thing as a free lunch, especially when the government is operating the soup kitchens...
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