Daily blog (audio): What percent of GDP is that? ["How much?"]

<p>What percent of GDP is that? ["How much?"]</p> <p><br> <br> We're on a mission to help one million people RISE by 2030 - join the movement at <a href="http://www.myrise.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.myrise.co.uk</a></p> <p><br></p> <p>I mentioned yesterday about Brian Cox’s response to the cost of a space exploration programme (the details of which I forgot).</p> <p>And the context he put that in by explaining that that money was nearly all then spent in this country and not “sent up in a rocket”.</p> <p>Context is often useful with all expenditure.</p> <p>I regularly see people posting on social media about how much is been spent on things.</p> <p>And “what a waste” it is.</p> <p>Or how it could be spent better.</p> <p>By the government.</p> <p>By the local council.</p> <p>And, often, these amounts of money do sound a lot.</p> <p>A billion pounds by the government.</p> <p>£3 million by the local council.</p> <p>But big numbers always sound a lot without context.</p> <p>A billion pounds is less than £20 per person in the UK.</p> <p>0.035% of GDP (“all of the money spent by consumers, businesses, and government in a given period”).</p> <p>£3 million about £50 per person who lives in Macclesfield.</p> <p>Or 0.3% of the amount spent in the town each year by visitors.</p> <p>Doesn’t automatically mean that they are the best uses of money and that we shouldn’t ask questions, of course.</p> <p>But it puts them into context, doesn’t it.</p> <p>Both in terms of what a big cost it really is in the grand scheme of things.</p> <p>And of the benefits it could bring (spending 0.3% of the amount spent by visitors in Macclesfield to increase that number by a percent or five makes sense, no?).</p> <p>And I always think the same with the cost of our programme.</p> <p>I get that it costs more than a budget gym.</p> <p>The kind where you rent access to some equipment.</p> <p>But no one knows or cares if you know what you’re doing, go or not or get results or not.</p> <p>And you only hear from when you cancel your DD