A closer look at last quarter's numbers
The economic numbers out today attest that the economy isn't shrinking, but there's still plenty going on to make you wonder. Janet Babin looks at everything from the stimulus checks to gas consumption.
Man checks bar graph (iStockPhoto)
More on The Economy, Fed. Budget/Govt. Spending
TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: The economic numbers out this morning look pretty good at face value. The government says GDP grew at a rate of almost 2 percent last quarter. That was better than the first quarter, so by the numbers, the economy's not shrinking. But it's a little suspicious, given all the other things going on. Marketplace's Janet Babin has more from North Carolina Public Radio.
Janet Babin: Government stimulus checks gave the U.S. economy a bit of a boost in the second quarter. Or maybe it was those income tax refunds.
Peter Morici's an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland:
Peter Morici: They made a big difference in May. Retail sales really jumped that month. A good deal of the money was saved however, and spending didn't continue into June and July.
Morici says any growth from the stimulus checks is unsustainable and won't be enough to turn the economy around long-term. Instead, Morici says we need to tame the credit crunch and become more energy independent.
Morici: Our huge consumption of gasoline, the payments for that go abroad, and the broken banks in New York, which have created a shortage of credit.
That'll continue to shrink the job market. We also learned this morning the number of workers filing claims for unemployment insurance soared to the highest level in more than five years.
I'm Janet Babin for Marketplace.
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From Triad, NC, 08/01/2008
Since few of status and education will call it a recession, the second choice is stagflation. This to many is even more alarming! You have to be completely "out of touch" to have not been affected by daily negative economic news. Why such a reluctance to call it a "duck" as the quake gets louder and louder. Is it me or are so many aspects of our society really on a
troublesome rocky road? Fast food companies have refocused their accent to chicken entrees - where is that corn fed beef going to coming from? It is shown by a plethora of phone companies struggling? Even the Japanese car companies are battling a sales fracas - the invincible Honda had a 2% sales decrease in July. It is rumored that Sears is going to throw the "kitching sink" into their Fall Sale (LOL). Many of you remember the game "Let's make a deal." Advertizing is filled with the amazing deals offered by our merchants. You should have the message by now. I conclude my fellow Americans with this warning "You ain't seen nothing yet!"
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