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To: Freedom Fighter who wrote (7581)	6/22/1999 9:52:00 PM
From: Freedom Fighter	Respond to of 78676

Government Stats I generally don't pay much attention to government statistics when I invest, but I read a few interesting things recently that I thought I'd pass along. The Richebacher Letter, a sample newsletter I came across, and a recent report I read all independently studied the GDP, productivity, and other recent government figures and made an excellent case that GDP growth is not nearly as rapid in dollar terms as stated. This is due to certain estimates of computer power increases that get added to it in dollar terms but have little to do with the actual dollars of GDP. Some of it is beyond my expertise and I'm not so sure how relevant it is for the investors that frequent this thread, but all three think that the figures are highly suspect and come to the conclusion that GDP growth is not as rapid as stated and productivity is not as high as stated. One of the three said that the government is aware of the problem. If I find the one online report I'll post it. Wayne

To: Freedom Fighter who wrote (7581)	6/23/1999 11:52:00 AM
From: geoffrey Wren	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 78676

A couple of years ago GM's underfunding of pensions was in the magnitude of $10B as I recall. One of the reasons I stayed away at the time. Recent article in the Economist reviewed how many S&P 500 companies were significantly adding to current profits because their pension funds were getting overfunded, and they have a way of getting the excess out. But I don't suppose this is cause for investors to worry. If the market crashes and the funds get underfunded again, it's the taxpayer who will be forced to bail the funds out. Another example of corporate welfare.