I always marvel at how the economy is a boot-strap operation. As pointed out in the Douglas/Sykes article in our last post, economists for the AGC tout how for every dollar spent on construction, $3.4 dollars are added to the GDP. A multiplier of 3.4 for construction ... not bad.
Well, that's nothing.
Consider the case of Muniz v. UPS, decided by the 9th Circuit on December 5, 2013. Muniz sued her employer, UPS, for gender discrimination. She was demoted by two classification levels. Her complaint alleged damages in excess of $25,000, and the jury granted her wish: she recoverd $27,280. Her lawyers submitted a fee request for $1.9 million, and the court awarded them $697,971.80 in attorneys fees. Of course, that's just one half of the equation. UPS's lawyers, Paul Hastings, don't come cheap. Let's call it another million, just to be conservative. And this doesn't count the appeal.
So the $27,280 lawsuit gave rise to economic activity in excess of $2 million ... a multiplier of 74! Now there's a boost to GDP worth shouting about.
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