EDITORIAL: Worst economic recovery, ever - Washington Times

EDITORIAL: Worst economic recovery, ever - Washington Times The Obama administration is hailing the latest economic growth figures as evidence things are getting better. They’re not. As with recent unemployment data, these numbers don’t pass the smell test. In your guts you know they’re nuts. The Commerce Department said Friday the economy grew at a sluggish 2 percent rate in the third quarter. This may be higher than the anemic 1.3 percent in the previous quarter, but that doesn’t constitute evidence of a booming economy. In 1992, the economy grew at 2.7 percent in the third quarter, and the Bill Clinton campaign denounced that meager performance as one of the weakest economic recoveries since World War II. By the same measure, our current 2 percent recovery must take the title of the worst ever. The Obama campaign insists the gross domestic product (GDP) data are “more evidence that our economy continues to come back from the worst recession since the Great Depression under President Obama’s leadership.” That’s interesting, considering growth is far below what the White House promised. In his first budget submission, Mr. Obama projected we’d be expanding at a 6.3 percent rate by now. The number the administration sees as evidence of success actually confirms its failure. A third of the GDP growth, and all of the difference from last quarter, came through increased government spending. Read more: EDITORIAL: Worst economic recovery, ever - Washington Times http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/26/worst-economic-recovery-ever/#ixzz2AWHyUQOw Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter