It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

PROJECTIONS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE ROK WERE FAR OFF THE MARK.

Doubts are being raised about the accuracy of economic forecasts by domestic institutions after their predictions for last year were found to be way off mark due to unexpected factors such as the ongoing credit-card crisis and a wider-than-expected slump in domestic consumption.

The nation's gross domestic product grew at an estimated 2.9 percent in 2003, while the trade surplus reached a record $12 billion.

However, at the start of 2003, the Finance Ministry projected GDP growth of 5 percent and trade surplus of somewhere between $2 billion to $3 billion.

...

The government unveiled its economic growth target for this year at 6 percent or higher, saying that the continued expansion of exports would drive up the overall recovery, a similar prediction it made at the beginning of last year.

A similar thing couldn't happen in the consumer-debt-ridden-spending-buoyed-only-by-drawing-out-equity-from-overvalued-real-estate U.S. could it? Nah.