Business

Preliminary Estimate: Q2 Economy Grew At 2.3 Percent

“NOT DEAD YET …” || By FITSNEWS || Like the old man in the Monty Python skit who’s “not dead yet,” the U.S. economy still has a pulse … assuming you believe the government data. America’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded during the second quarter of 2015 at a 2.3 percent…

“NOT DEAD YET …”

|| By FITSNEWS || Like the old man in the Monty Python skit who’s “not dead yet,” the U.S. economy still has a pulse … assuming you believe the government data.

America’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded during the second quarter of 2015 at a 2.3 percent rate, according to preliminary estimates released this week by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (.pdf here).  Meanwhile first quarter GDP, which originally printed at a disastrous -0.2 percent, was revised upward to 0.6 percent.

Gotta love that “double seasonal adjustment” (a.k.a. faking it till you make it) …

In fact this trick was used to adjust 2014’s disastrous first quarter from -2.1 percent to -0.9 percent.

Before everybody breaks out the “rainbows and unicorns” champagne, though, it’s important to remember joblessness in America remains widespread (a record 93 million working age Americans are out of the labor pool), wages remain flat and there are serious global economic headwinds bearing down on our so-called “recovery.”

It’s also important to note these “adjustments” of GDP align nicely with the Federal Reserve’s plan to proceed with an interest rate hike in September.

So …

While it’s always nice to see “green” numbers as opposed to “red “numbers, it’s going to be increasingly hard to achieve big GDP gains moving forward … especially the level of growth needed to meet the government’s fanciful entitlement estimates.

America hasn’t hit five percent annual economic growth since 1984.  That’s right … more than three decades ago.  The last time it grew at a four percent clip? 2000.  Fifteen years ago …

By contrast, growth exceeded five percent in twelve out of thirty years from 1950-1980.  And it exceeded four percent in seventeen out of those thirty years.  Of course, as we’ve noted, this was before the era of obscenely big government – before the perpetual expansion of the welfare state, before the dawn of unchecked crony capitalism, before the radical redistribution of wealth, before Obamacare and before two totally unsuccessful “Wars on Terror.”

Bottom line? America is perfectly capable of sustained, robust economic expansion …. but that’s never going to happen absent a fundamental reversal of our current trajectory.

***

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13 comments

Cedric the Lion July 30, 2015 at 10:37 am

Not sure what economic planet you’re living on, but raising the interest rate by 1/4 of a point probably wouldn’t be the worst idea. “Free money” isn’t sustainable in the long term, so its time to start putting some of it back in the system.

Reply
FastEddy23 July 30, 2015 at 10:57 am

“progressive” Gruberment has thrown some road apples up against the barn to see what will stick, again. Expect correction soon.

Wondering how main stream, middle of the road democrat are taking the outright lies?

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Rocky July 30, 2015 at 10:59 am

2.3% is in line with the growth rates since 2001 – so not so sure this is really big news. And it’s likely to revise upwards.

Reply
FastEddy23 July 30, 2015 at 11:04 am

Mmmmmm … and with the IRS, et al, tax collections up above record levels, your common core math reasoning might just be able to suggest that. … But reality bites.

All inflation is caused by government, government prints the money and government can too easily print too much.

Reply
Rocky July 30, 2015 at 11:17 am

Not sure you’re jib there Eddy – if receipts are up, are you saying, yes, the moderate growth is about right? (Let’s all use nautical terms in August).

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The Colonel July 30, 2015 at 1:52 pm

Saturday September 19th is the 13th Annual Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Reply
Rocky July 30, 2015 at 2:09 pm

I shall chart myself clear of those dangerous shoals.

The Colonel July 30, 2015 at 2:14 pm

I generally wear my fake pirate earring and a bandana and say “yar” a lot. A degree in marine science helps…

TontoBubbaGoldstein July 30, 2015 at 2:38 pm

The keelhaulings will continue until morale improves.

Avast, ye scurvy bastards!

RRRRRRRR!!!!

The Colonel July 30, 2015 at 3:01 pm

September you landlubber!

Slartibartfast July 30, 2015 at 3:09 pm

“Preliminary Estimate: Q2 Economy Grew At 2.3 Percent” ..I’m going to estimate that this is rubbish.

Reply
Ryan P. Curtis July 31, 2015 at 8:58 am Reply
Ban Rand July 30, 2015 at 3:56 pm

“That’s libertarians for you – anarchists who want police protection from their slaves.”

Kim Stanley Robinson

Reply

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