Meanwhile, politicians from Scotland of all stripes, where many contracts and defence industries are based, have made their case to the defence secretary against cuts - arguing that the result would be
drastic economic decline.
Although one could argue that we are wrong in subtracting certain things or in using the values we do at various points, and so claim that
economic welfare has in fact not
declined in recent years, it would be equally possible to reintroduce leisure into our calculations and end up with figures indicating a more
drastic decline.