To libertarians / Rand clones

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Except that those computers, while they are depreciating, do work that people actually value.

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And in determining the raw value of economic production, where does the "what the people actually value" factor in? I don't believe it does.

I sure was pissed off when I bought a Gateway. It was a total piece of junk and brought no value to me. My consumption (C) of $2000 still factored into GDP, however. Just like the government spending (G) on 100,000 airplanes factored into GDP.

On a related note, many technology innovations and efficiencies came about from World War II as well, which also factor greatly into the GDP growth rate. And some would say such things as the entire airline industry came into existence because of World War II.