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Feds: Oh, hey, 1Q GDP was way worse than we first told you



Remember when the government told us that first quarter GDP growth was 2.4 percent, which is pretty weak but at least it's something? About that . . .
Gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of economic activity -- rose at a mere 1.8% annual pace between January and March, marking a sharp downward revision from the 2.4% pace reported by the Commerce Department last month. The government revises its GDP figures several times, but economists weren't expecting such a dramatic change from the third estimate. "This was certainly unexpected and, I believe, rare," said Jennifer Lee, senior economist with BMO Capital Markets, referring to the revision. The weaker figures came primarily from revisions to consumer spending, exports and commercial real estate.

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Let's not mince words. This is worse than awful. The original figure of 2.4 percent was awful. The new figure of 1.8 percent is abysmal. And this chart from CNN gives you a pretty clear picture of just how awful the economy has been since the beginning of 2011. With the exception of one brief spike at the end of 2011, we're been stuck in stagnation and scarcity for the past two-and-a-half years. And really, the truth is we've been there throughout the Obama presidency. It's no surprise, therefore, that the number of people on food stamps now exceeds the entire population of Spain, and why would anyone think this is alarming to Barack Obama? The more people who rely on government to meet their daily needs, the better that is for Democrats politically, and Obama's economic policies are creating a permanent underclass that sees no option for itself but to rely on public sector beneficience (or other Democratic constituents like unions or trial lawyers) to get what they need to survive. Meanwhile, the news media is too obsessed with Paula Deen and George Zimmerman to convey any understanding of just how horrible this economy is, not that most of them are intelligent enough to understand it themselves. So, enjoying the new normal? Because this is what we can look forward to many years of as long as we continue along with the economic policies that are currently decimating this country.


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Dan Calabrese -- Bio and Archives

Dan Calabrese’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain

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