Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) totaled $12.284 trillion in the United States in 2015. Purchases of goods and services accounted for 77.75% or $9.550 trillion of personal consumption. The remaining 22.25% or $2.734 trillion of PCE did not involve a purchase. However, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, part of the United States Department of Commerce, which calculates PCE, includes in its total monetary value transactions for which no payment was made. For example, it imputes a monetary value for meals furnished to employees and military personnel. Other examples of “nonpurchases” are...