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Robert Romano: Economic Weakness Isn’t Just The Weather

“SOMETHING ELSE IS AMISS …” || By ROBERT ROMANO || The economy only grew by an inflation-adjusted 2.4 percent in 2014, reports the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) after downgrading fourth-quarter growth in its most recent report. Must’ve been that cold weather again. Readers will recall that was the explanation offered…

“SOMETHING ELSE IS AMISS …”

|| By ROBERT ROMANO || The economy only grew by an inflation-adjusted 2.4 percent in 2014, reports the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) after downgrading fourth-quarter growth in its most recent report.

Must’ve been that cold weather again.

Readers will recall that was the explanation offered earlier last year for a terrible first quarter in 2014, with headlines such as CNBC’s “Frigid winter takes toll as U.S. GDP contracts for first time in 3 years.”

And we suppose if the first quarter this year is weak, we’ll be told again it was because of all the snow.

In the meantime, 2014 actually marked a 9-year losing streak for the U.S. economy, which has not grown above 3 percent since 2005. Not above 4 percent since 2000.

Didn’t we have winters each of those years? Maybe that was why.

Yet, the slowdown began long before that, where nominal growth — before adjusting for inflation — has been trending downward for more than thirty years.

Was that cold weather too?

But wait, nominal growth was actually rising for much of the postwar period before peaking in the early to mid-1980s.

Was that warm weather? Didn’t those years have winters, too?

Perhaps something else is amiss …

(To continue reading this piece, press the “Read More …” icon below).

Robert Romano is the Senior Editor of Americans for Limited Government.  This piece (reprinted with permission) originally appeared on NetRightDaily.com.

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8 comments

0% growth on tap March 2, 2015 at 11:07 am

Wait until the millions of people (2 million in Florida alone)lose their illegal Obamacare subsidies in June and gas prices are around $3.25 a gallon this summer.

Reply
Cheering for Suffering March 2, 2015 at 11:18 am

Hopefully the Supreme Court will take Americans into consideration more than you have and keep subsidies working.

Reply
Me March 2, 2015 at 12:02 pm

Being a republican must be depressing as fuck. Glad I live in the real world.

Reply
They Die Quicker March 2, 2015 at 12:33 pm

They are not depressed, just angry. Always angry at something or someone and needing to know that person is punished for doing something they do not approve of. Not good for the heart.

Reply
burn baby burn March 2, 2015 at 1:04 pm

Oh.That Democrat Party rally in Ferguson this summer seemed really upbeat and uplifting…especially when they were burning,looting and trying to kill police officers?

Reply
Wake Up March 2, 2015 at 12:05 pm

Guess the NASDAQ didn’t get the republican’s memo. Broke 5000 for the first time today. They sure have created a shitty imaginary world for themselves.

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so what? March 2, 2015 at 4:46 pm

ok.0% interest rates and 16 TRILLION dollars of printed money. That number meant nothing today to 99.9% of Americans.

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Wake Up March 2, 2015 at 10:34 pm

It means a lot to the 0.1% of the country that fund the politicians who become president. These record high numbers aren’t happening under a republican executive. Explains why the republicans have a field of completely unelectable clowns that will hand the White House to Hillary.

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