"The recovery in economic activity that began in the second half of last year has continued at a moderate pace so far this year... At the same time, significant restraints on the pace of the recovery remain... As you know, the labor market was hit particularly hard by the recession, but we have begun to see some modest improvement recently... Even after economic and financial conditions have returned to normal, however, in the absence of further policy actions, the federal budget appears to be on an unsustainable path."  Ben Bernanke, Fed Chairman, June 9, 2010.Real GDP and Number of Nonfarm Jobs, Last 5 YearsSource:  St. Louis Fed/Fred.Hoven's Index for June 11, 2011Decline in real GDP from peak (2Q08) to trough (2Q09):  3.8%Increase in real GDP from trough to most recent (1Q10):  2.7%Decline in jobs from peak (Dec 07) to trough (Dec 09):  6.1%Increase in jobs from trough to most recent (May 10):  0.8%Decline in private jobs from peak (Dec 07)...(Read Full Post)