3.5 is good, but i wouldn't say "the recession is over" quite yet
at least, not in public
america might fling fungoid fruit at you
by all accounts, the 3.5 is artificially inflated by 1.6% augmentation in the auto market, "stimulated" by a clunky contrivance which, now that it's concluded, leaves behind a DOWNWARD impetus on car sales
hundreds of thousands of consumers even contemplating an auto purchase in the foreseeable future just drove it home in july and won't be shopping for chevys again for years
the future of the car industry looks bleakly foreboding now that the artificiality is exhausted
the 8% tax credit for new home buyers is another inflater underlying the 3.5, still foreclosures are at an all time high
Foreclosures hit record in third quarter 2009 - Oct. 15, 2009
realtytrac also sees a sad prospectus---"the fastest growing area is in the 180-days late category, the most seriously delinquent borrowers, it's going to be a lingering problem"
i wouldn't inform those folks flung out of their flats that the famine is finished, even were i flaunting full pads and a football helmet
consumer confidence has also crashed
Worsening job picture fuels slide in confidence - Yahoo! Finance
THAT's the united states economy---no confidence
the stimulus, which was reported earlier this month to have "saved or created" a piddly 38000 jobs, is reported today to have overestimated even that measly sum by some 13%
My Way News - Stimulus jobs overstated by thousands
finally, where rubber meets road---JOBS
new claims rose by 530,000 in the WEEK ending 10-24
Initial jobless claims drop less than expected - Oct. 29, 2009
and we're experiencing a deep psychological, depressive freeze on hiring in the form of discomfiting fears of fines, mandates, taxes, enfolded in cap and trade, health care...
3.5% is a pretty number, but i'm afraid it's a statistic too abstract for americans with bellies that are substantial
politics is in the gut, not the head