Normally we wouldn't give much thought to the fact that Britain has surpassed France as the world's fifth-largest economy. But this story caught our attention: It was theway in which Britain snagged the higher spot.
The amount that Britains spend on prostitutes and illegal drugs has boosted the country in the rankings, according to the independent forecasting group, the Centre for Economics and Business Research. As a result of the new calculations — it is the first year the U.K. has included the figures — Britain's GDP rose to $2.82 trillion in 2014, up from $2.53 trillion the previous year.
France currently does not include the economic benefits of sex work and drug dealing in its calculations. If it did, it might have held on to its coveted 5th place standing, the Centre's report noted.
Britain decided to include the seedy side of its economic growth after the European Union changed accounting rules last September. Accountants, however, stress that it's mostly smoke and mirrors.
Eric Dubois, director of France's statistics office, the INSEE, told the Telegraph newspaper that such commercial activities were not voluntary, and therefore it will not comply with the new EU rules. He said that prostitution was the result of "Mafia networks and trafficking illegal immigrants."
UK is going down the tubes. All the numbers say so.
ReplyDeleteYupp, Britania have becomed a fullfedged bannanarepublic, and a Dicensian dungeon, where the ritch and shameless rules, and comon man is just a toy/slave.
ReplyDeleteProgress is what this is labaled as by the elite, and the neoCONs.
Halleluja.
What if drugs where legalised, and all this money earned by local growers/brewers, and instead of going to criminal gangs, this could be diversifyed thrue a society like they do in Purtugal, and if you grow pott, and sell it, its income and thereby taxable.
But, no, logic and comon sense isnt in this days.
I would be exstatic the day I can shopp, my grouserys and to light my pipe/spliff.
peace
IFthey omitted the crooked derivatives market, would Britain be about 20% behind France?
ReplyDelete