Sammie: assuming your fist post above was an attempt to answer my question on behalf of beks (and if so, thank you)--they're equating GDP with the nebulous concept "economic benefit" (which is the only x-axis label the chart itself even mentions--shameful). I'll freely admit not to being an economics expert, but most of the sensible economics explanations and policies I've read come from the Austrian school of economics, and one of that school's adherents, Frank Shostak, explained one of the key limitations of the real-world value of the GDP thus:
The GDP framework cannot tell us whether final goods and services that were produced during a particular period of time are a reflection of real wealth expansion, or a reflection of capital consumption....For instance, if a government embarks on the building of a pyramid, which adds absolutely nothing to the well-being of individuals, the GDP framework will regard this as economic growth. In reality, however, the building of the pyramid will divert real funding from wealth-generating activities, thereby stifling the production of wealth.
All these economics stimulus packages are addressing the symptom, not the root cause, of the economy's problem. Beks may well be correct in saying that 2/3rds of our national economy is consumer spending--but I think this is the root of the problem, not a necessary reality to consider and cater to when trying to come up with a solution. Thinking that we as a nation can spend our way out of a looming economic nightmare is pretty insane. The stimulus package backers (of all affiliations and during current or past administrations) are trying to restart the engine, all the while ignoring the fact that the vehicle's gone over a cliff and is in free-fall.
In this video, Peter Schiff especially explains some of these concepts really well. Please don't let the super-dramatic music turn you off, it's worth watching: