A huge story that everyone ignored

Felix Soloman:

　

How macroeconomic statistics failed the US

Here’s one big reason why the current economic weakness in the US has come as such a shock. It’s not the only reason, but it’s an important one, and it hasn’t gotten nearly the attention it deserves: the state of macroeconomic data-gathering in the US is pretty weak.

　

In January 2009 the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated that the economy was shrinking at an annual rate of 3.8%. That number has been revised downward ever since and the current number is -8.9%

All the political punditry and economic "debates" are suffering from a huge GIGO problem.