Since Gilmoure asked, here are the nominal GDP estimates from the CBO (and nominal % change):
2008 - 14.26 T, 3.3%
2009 - 14.05 T, -1.5%
2010 - 14.58 T, 3.8%
2011 - 15.23 T, 4.5%
2012-2015 (average) - 18.14 T, 4.5%
2016-2019 (average) - 21.16 T, 3.9%
I use nominal GDP because debts are nominal. I do think these projections are a bit rosy. I still haven’t seen a plausible engine for growth. This is not terribly unusual, though. These things aren’t easy to predict. The CBO seems to be assuming that some engine for growth will emerge, without needing to know what that engine will be. This is a reasonable approach for them, but it should also give an idea of the level of uncertainty in these projections. Their unemployment projections for 2010 are particularly unrealistic.
