Economic Growth Revised Down

RUSH: By the way, do you remember that big, big report, economic growth, fourth quarter of last year, 3.2%, remember that? What did we tell you? We told you to hang on, sit tight, be patient for the revised number. It won’t be that good. And it wasn’t. ‘The U.S. economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, slower than previously calculated and less than forecast as state and local governments made deeper cuts in spending.’ Once again, economic growth revised downward, not 3.2%, but rather 2.8% in the fourth quarter.

I’d like to hearken back to the New York Times business article last month trumpeting that great news about the economy closing out 2010. That’s when Obama was riding high on the move to the center and this comeback kid nonsense. It was by Catherine Rampell. ‘With a little more money in their wallets and a little less fear in their hearts, American consumers helped pull the economy up by its bootstraps in the final months of last year.’ No, Catherine, the economy was not pulled up by its bootstraps. Phony information pulled the president up by his by his bootstraps. Phony information amplified by you. The New York Times story said: ‘The gross domestic product, a broad measure of the goods and services produced in the country, grew at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter, up from 2.6 percent in the previous period,’ this according to the Commerce Department. Well, the Commerce Department was either wrong or they lied because the growth was a pathetic 2.8%.

‘Because of this slightly speedier expansion, the nation’s overall economic output has finally matched its peak before the recession. Still, given the millions of jobless American workers, the economy has fallen far short of what it could be if it were healthy, economists said.’ No, it did not match its peak before the recession, is the bottom line. The whole story was a fib, the whole story in the New York Times about this 3.2% growth rate. See, they don’t expect us to do that. They don’t expect us to go back and review what they wrote about this stuff. They expect this revised number down to 2.8% essentially to be ignored. ”Things are better, but they’re not anywhere near where they need to be to make major inroads into unemployment,’ said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics.’ They’re not better, John. ‘Thanks to modestly higher paychecks and swelled investment portfolios, Americans appeared more comfortable buying again and stashing away a little less in savings.’ No. Nice story to tell but it wasn’t reality.