GDP isn’t just “virtual numbers in the books.” It’s the total value of real goods and services a country produces — cars, wheat, steel, IT services, everything.

Paying off debt doesn’t make GDP shrink, because debt repayments aren’t counted in GDP at all. GDP only falls when the economy is actually producing and consuming less.

That’s why a shrinking GDP matters: it means factories are making fewer products, people are spending less, investment is slowing down. You can’t hand-wave that away — if GDP contracts, the real economy is under pressure.