GDP

Yesterday I discovered that a huge tree limb had fallen on my property. It came from an oak tree so tall I couldn't actually see the scar where it had broken off. It would have been a pretty big tree all by itself. I heat with firewood so on the one hand, this was a bonanza, but on the other hand it was complicated and laborious to clean it up. I've been harvesting firewood and cleaning up deadfall since I was a kid, and I have have the necessary fixed capital - two chainsaws, a tractor with a loader, a peevee. 

There's a lot of knowledge, skill and judgment involved to do it safely. You have to start by removing the brush so you can see what you're doing, and you have to haul it away so it doesn't tangle your feet. When the wood falls it usually knocks down some smaller trees or gets entangled in them so there may be a fairly complicated mess to clean up before you have sound footing and can figure out which way the pieces are going to fall and how they're going to pinch, which takes a lot of experience and judgment. Then you have to start dismantling the piece systematically, which often requires a plan to get some parts out of the way in order to get access to others. Of course you need to make sure your chain is sharp and you may need to replace it during the project.

If I had hired someone to do this it probably would have cost me $1,000 or so. Instead it cost me 50 cents worth of gas and chain oil and whatever depreciation there was on my saw, chain and tractor (which I used to haul the pieces out of the woods and dump them next to my log splitter.) Doing this also saves me from having to pay gym membership, since I get plenty of exercise; and paying for home heating fuel. If I did spend all that money, it would be added to the Gross Domestic Product statistic, and make the economy look "stronger" or "healthier" as conventional reporting would have it. I could have really juiced the economy by severely injuring myself and needing surgery and hospital care.

We can also add to GDP by crashing our cars, necessitating the purchase of a new one and maybe some medical care; having our entire neighborhood wiped out by a natural disaster, requiring rebuilding houses; drinking ourselves into cirrhosis; and any number of activities or events that most people wouldn't think are indicators of strength or health. (And no, the value of the stuff that's destroyed isn't subtracted.) Along the way we're also spewing carbon into the atmosphere and otherwise causing collateral damage.

But we don't add a penny to GDP by volunteering, taking care of kids, helping our neighbors, growing our own vegetables, or just self-sufficiently maintaining our own homes and cars and gardens. On the other hand, the way society is structured right now, most people need jobs and building cars, rebuilding houses, and treating cirrhosis all do provide them. But we need a better way of allocating resources, and measuring national well being.