Keeping Abreast of the Economy

I've blogged before about how tenuous this "economic recovery" appears to be to critical commentators. Here are two more sources that question the happy talk coming from the mainstream press and our compromised politicians:

From the Progressive Economists Forum: "Weaker Than You Think"

The headlines trumpeted no growth in real GDP. In fact it was a slight month-to-month decline (of over $400 million in chained $2002 — not enough to amount to a tenth of a percentage point in

StatsCan’s one-decimal-point approach to economic growth). Take away the $2 billion boost in auto assembly, parts, and other direct inputs that resulted from the re-start of the Chrysler plants, and national GDP would have declined by over 0.2 percent

And, the US economy does not appear to be firing on all cylinders either. (D'you think those leftish and lefty critics who said that Obama's stimulus package was insufficient might finally get some credit now? Pish and tosh!)

Companies in the United States are shedding more jobs, pushing the country's unemployment rate to a 26-year high of 9.8 percent.The U.S. Labor Department said Friday that employers cut 263,000 jobs in September, with companies in the service industries (including banks, restaurants and retailers) hit especially hard.The United States has now lost 7.2 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007. The new data is sparking fears that unemployment could threaten an economic recovery.

So, there you have it.