Posted on 03/31/2011 9:09:11 AM PDT by blam
The Truth About The Economy: We're Heading Back Toward A Double Dip
Robert Reich
Mar. 31, 2011, 10:31 AM
Why aren’t Americans being told the truth about the economy? We’re heading in the direction of a double dip – but you’d never know it if you listened to the upbeat messages coming out of Wall Street and Washington.
Consumers are 70 percent of the American economy, and consumer confidence is plummeting. It’s weaker today on average than at the low point of the Great Recession.
The Reuters/University of Michigan survey shows a 10 point decline in March – the tenth largest drop on record. Part of that drop is attributable to rising fuel and food prices. A separate Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence, just released, shows consumer confidence at a five-month low — and a large part is due to expectations of fewer jobs and lower wages in the months ahead.
Pessimistic consumers don’t buy as much. And fewer sales spells big economic trouble ahead.
What about the 192,000 jobs added in February? (We’ll know more Friday about how many jobs were added in March.) It’s peanuts compared to what’s needed. Remember, 125,000 new jobs are necessary just to keep up with a growing number of Americans eligible for employment. And the nation has lost so many jobs over the last three years that even at a rate of 200,000 a month we wouldn’t get back to 6 percent unemployment until 2016.
But isn’t the economy growing again – by an estimated 2.5 to 2.9 percent this year? Yes, but that’s even less than peanuts. The deeper the economic hole, the faster the growth needed to get back on track. By this point we’d expect growth of 4 to 6 percent. In 1934, emerging from
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(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Is Robert Reich leaving the Obama plantation?
Truth is we never came out of the first tailspin. Smoke and mirrors.
no, he is out there with Krugman screaming in the wilderness for an even bigger Porkulus II
Economics / Double Dip Recession
Mar 30, 2011 - 10:22 AM
By: Richard Hartley
Politics aside, I do not see how we escape a more serious downturn. Yeah, consumer confidence is falling, but that’s nebulous. What is real and tangible is that personal income is tanking and prices are begining to really climb.
Gasoline prices are going to take it’s heavy toll.
Food prices for the shrinking package sizes is escalating fast.
WalMart just warned of significant inflation pressure in the coming months.
The feds continue to print money and devalue the dollar.
How can ANYONE be economically optimistic?
One word applies to the current economy: stagflation.
Robert Reich always the last to get it. Krugman never gets it.
My dog Buddy knew we were headed for the double dip when we had to cut out the Greenies at $15 per bag.
“Is Robert Reich leaving the Obama plantation?”
Only in the sense that he’s setting up the case that the reason Keynesian stimulation failed is that the deficit is too small. I’m sure the spin will be that Zero was prevented from saving the world by wascally wepublicans who campaigned against increasing the deficit to 3 trillion dollars a year.
Reich is right about the Double Dip, and not much else. To us, this is proof we should cut spending and get our fiscal house in order. To him, it’s an excuse to print more money.
Yup. This is the Second Great Depression.
They will have to monetize the debt soon. They are trying to hold on til after the election.
I think you are right in that they are trying to keep this thing all together until after the election. If correct, it may get pretty rough after that as all pretenses are dropped.
Yep to try to keep Obama for the final plunge.
The Fed pumped Trillions (About 4) into the Big Crony Corporations like GE, Siemens, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, GM, Chrysler, BP, etc,.
They also manipulated the bond markets and created phony wealth out of thin air. It was a complete charade and a phony economy that has still yet to come home to roost.
“Robert Reich always the last to get it. Krugman never gets it.”
Krugman really isn’t an economist. He’s just a cheerleader for the Democrats, and basher on Republicans.
The economy is in a dive that hasn’t slowed. Debt manipulations and propaganda haven’t really fooled those who are attentive and realistic.
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