PrintMarch 15, 2009
Obama better hurry; Economy contracting at a slower rate
If there is "opportunity in crisis" as our president and most of his administration has said at one time or another, then that window of opportunity may be closing for Obama to remake the United States:
Although you wouldn't know it from the behavior of the stock market, the economic outlook is turning just a bit less gloomy. Prosperity may not be just around the corner, but statistical evidence is mounting to suggest that the worst of this recession may soon be past.There's plenty more at the link that just might convince you that we have seen the absolute bottom of the recession and have nowhere to go but up at this point.
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But you want more than assertions; you want proof. And here it is:
- The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators has risen for two months in a row.
- Producer prices have increased for two straight months.
- Consumer prices rose in January -- the first monthly gain in six months.
- The Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of shipping key raw materials like copper, steel and iron, has more than doubled from its recent lows.
- Existing-home sales rose in December, and participants in our weekly survey think that another rise took place in January.
- Pending home sales went up in December.
- Builders' confidence inched up this month.
- Thanks to lower interest rates, applications for both new mortgages and refinancings of existing mortgages are rising.
- Real hourly earnings rose 4.5% in December following a 3.3% increase in November.
- An index of consumer expectations rose in January.
- Retail sales shot up by 1% in January -- the first monthly rise since June.
Our poor president. Here he is, presented with a once in a century opportunity to turn America into a far left paradise by taking advantage of a severe recession to ram through stuff that no one would ordinarily support except through rank fearmongering and it looks like he's running out of time to hide his remaking America in his "economic recovery" efforts.
No doubt he'll find some other way to realize his agenda. But it probably won't be by scaring everyone that everything he is doing is necessary to save the economy.
