[Wyatt's Torch]

You aren’t disagreeing with me. You are disagreeing with facts in the report from the BEA:

“Real federal government consumption expenditures and gross investment decreased 15.0 percent
in the fourth quarter, in contrast to an increase of 9.5 percent in the third. National defense decreased
22.2 percent, in contrast to an increase of 12.9 percent. Nondefense increased 1.4 percent, compared
with an increase of 3.0 percent. Real state and local government consumption expenditures and gross
investment decreased 0.7 percent, in contrast to an increase of 0.3 percent.”

http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm

Here’s the table with the data: http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2013/txt/gdp4q12_adv.txt

If you have issues with their reported data I suggest you take it up with them.

[Wpin]

You can find actual expenditures here: http://www.fms.treas.gov/mts/mts.pdf

If you look, you will find expenditures were greater in the fourth quarter than the third...perhaps there is different accounting used?

you will have to scroll down to the appropriate time frames. In any event a 3% drop in GDP cannot be explained by their analysis...that is truly a huge drop!