AP:Economy Has Worst Growth Since 2002

[edhopper]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070531/economy.html?.v=11

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy nearly stalled in the first quarter with growth slowing to a pace of just 0.6 percent. That was the worst three-month showing in over four years.
The new reading on the gross domestic product, released by the Commerce Department Thursday, showed that economic growth in the January-through-March quarter was much weaker. Government statisticians slashed by more than half their first estimate of a 1.3 percent growth rate for the quarter."

Much of the economy is in recession already. Housing is having a far broader impact than "experts" acknowledge. Look for things to only get worse. Except in GOP-Kudlowland, where you can always have all the candy you can eat as long as taxes stay low on the wealthy.

[RevCheesehead]

1. Dear AP:

"No shit, Sherlock." :eyes:

[Warpy]

2. "Experts" are only men who are paid to echo propaganda

Anyone who didn't foresee the crash resulting from a slumped housing market in everything from lumber to carpeting to appliances to furniture has got to be completely blind. From all those industries there will be a huge ripple effect as everybody who used to take orders, drive delivery trucks, run back offices, and do the other jobs associated with transporting and selling all that get laid off and curtail their own spending at malls, discount stores, grocery stores, vacation spots, doctor's offices, and everything else they used to do to maintain their lifestyle. That will then produce another ripple going through all the things we all use, with more people getting laid off and confronting poverty with each one.

The collapse of the stock market in 1929 didn't cause the Depression in and of itself. What caused the Depression was when people found themselves with more debt than assets and stopped spending. The collapse of the consumer economy defined the Great Depression. People can live quite well without stocks. People can't live very well if most of their income is servicing debt that is no longer backed by a commodity they can resell.

I don't know if the slowdown in housing is enough to start another one. What I do know is that concentrating wealth into few hands and encouraging the many to take on debt in order to survive is not just unhealthy, it's extremely risky.

[AndyA]

3. I just printed off this story and handed it to my RW Father to read.

He said, "I was just told on the radio how great the economy is."

I said, "Who said that?"

"Neal Boortz."

:eyes:

I told him Neal says what the Bush Administration tells him to say, and that the truth was never a prerequisite for dispersing information to the public.

[magellan]

4. Printing lots of money, using up resources and stretching the military thin....

That's how the Roman Empire fell, and it's how we'll go down too if someone doesn't stop Bush**.

[newportdadde]

5. PPT to the rescue... someone get Ben to drop those sacks of cash from the helicopter.

Market will finish up today, no news can stop it now.