Thursday, June 09, 2011

Martin Feldstein: The Economy Is Worse Than You Think

Martin Feldstein: The Economy Is Worse Than You Think - WSJ.com
"The policies of the Obama administration have led to the weak condition of the American economy.
Growth during the coming year will be subpar at best, leaving high or rising levels of unemployment and underemployment.

The drop in GDP growth to just 1.8% in the first quarter of 2011, from 3.1% in the final quarter of last year, understates the extent of the decline.
Two-thirds of that 1.8% went into business inventories rather than sales to consumers or other final buyers.

This means that final sales growth was at an annual rate of just 0.6% and the actual quarterly increase was just 0.15%—dangerously close to no rise at all.
A sustained expansion cannot be built on inventory investment.
It takes final sales to induce businesses to hire and to invest"

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