In order to make itself look a respectable and unfairly maligned industry, The Direct Marketing Association (the same people behind OptOutprescreen.com) likes to tout how greatly telemarketing contributes to the American economy. The Denialism blog scoured the DMA press releases and website found the profit they say telemarketing generates varies wildly from year to year, and sometimes within the same year.

"Telemarketing Sales" 2001: $93,800,000,000
"In 2001...customers purchased $661 billion in goods and services - accounting for almost six percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)."
Sales to consumers in 2001: $274,200,000,000
"Telemarketing Sales" 2002: $100,000,000,000

Telemarketing must be a very volatile industry.

The Direct Marketing Association's New Math [Denialism Blog]
(Photo: Getty)