[hot_gril]

Wasteful consumerism, if it's truly wasteful, will also lead to lower future GDP growth. It's not a bad long-term metric. But I won't care if the US president claims to have moved the GDP by X%, even across two terms. The market can stay irrational for a long time.

To use Luke's example, say buzzsaws introduce planned obsolescence. People buy more saws for no good reason, which is "good for the GDP." More fixed income goes to buzzsaws instead of eventually being spent on something more useful. The buzzsaw industry expands a bit, pulling people and resources from other endeavors. Society is collectively spending its effort producing then throwing away buzzsaws when it could have created future growth through technology etc, which the GDP would eventually measure.