Well, not surprisingly, the government and media manufactured “recovery” appears to be in trouble. As a recent article in the Wall Street Journal points out, the outlook for 2010 is not good. And, it is not likely to get better in 2011 either. (At the time of writing, you can read the story here.)
Further, the job market is faltering. Just today the labor market numbers came in worse than expected. (Again, as I write this, you can read about the bad labor news here in the Wall Street Journal.)
Another article reports that, after government intervention to manufacture activity in the housing market (i.e., the homebuyer’s tax credit) ended in April, the housing market is in trouble again. (Again, see here in the Journal.)
So, the outlook for 2010 is dark, the recession was deeper than first stated, the labor market is struggling, and the real estate market sliding again. It might be fair to ask, “where is this wonderful recovery everyone has been talking about?”
Nonexistant is the answer. It was a cleverly created charade that is disappearing like dew in the morning. The effects of the financial crisis are still with us, and we may not be out of the “Great Recession” yet. In fact, it appears that we may be headed for a nasty double-dip.
To make matters worse, the poltroons in Washington have raised taxes, spent like drunken sailors, added a massive and expensive federal health insurance entitlement, and enacted new uncertainty-causing financial regulations. Now there is one of the most idiotic agendas to generate financial recovery that I have ever seen! Not surprisingly, it has not helped the economy one bit.
So, yes, the smoke and mirrors recovery is over. But the “Great Recession: Round Two” may be just getting started.