PrintAugust 12, 2010
Summer of No Recovery
Summer time, and the living is easy -- that is, if you are one of the 22.77 million people employed by the government, representing one out of seven people currently employed. If you are unemployed and hoping for an economic uptick to increase chances for employment, this may very well be your summer of discontent. In any event, the White House has designated the summer of 2010 the Recovery Summer.If this is the Recovery Summer, then:Why hasn't the National Bureau of Economic Research set a date for the end of the recession that began in December 2007 even though GDP growth had turned positive during the second quarter of 2009? Why are U.S. light vehicle sales in June, at 11 million cars at an annual rate, the lowest rate for auto sales since February?Why are housing sales weakening? Sales of existing homes in June fell by 2.6% from May. The National Association of Realtors Existing Home sales index was down 18.6% in June compared to June of 2009. Home sales in May fell 30% from...(Read Full Article)
