Nearly NINE years ago, in October 2003, I wrote that
I'm not very knowledgeable about economic matters, but yesterday the big economic story was that during the third quarter, our economy grew at an annualized rate of 7.2%, described by CNBC as "a simply stellar number."
The NPR reporter I heard said simply "this is good news for the Bush administration."
Isn't it good news for the entire country? Instead of welcoming favorable economic news, NPR seems to mourn it! They would rather see the economy, and maybe even the the country, go down the toilet -- just to vindicate their Bush-hatred. Now, how sick is that?
Now, today's headline at CNBC:
US Economy Grows at Tepid 2.2% Pace
Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday in its advance estimate, moderating from the fourth quarter's 3 percent rate.
While that was below economists' expectations for a 2.5 percent pace, a surge in consumer spending took some of the sting from the report. However, growth was still stronger than analysts' predictions early in the quarter for an expansion below 1.5 percent....
And at the top of the NPR News page right now:
.... On Friday, the government reported that the economy grew at a 2.2 percent pace in the first quarter, down from the 3 percent rate at the end of 2011. The Federal Reserve this week said it expects growth to "remain moderate over coming quarters and then to pick up gradually."
Common sense says high growth rates are good and slower, more modest ones are not so good. But is that always the case? After all, the "irrational exuberance" of the early 2000s helped bring on the recession as people borrowed and spent their way to prosperity...
In that article, NPR asks four economists this question:
"Is a moderate rate of growth, something in the neighborhood of 2 percent to 3 percent, better for the U.S. in the long run?
Posted by: Mannie Sherberg | Friday, 27 April 2012 at 04:58 PM