A Cold First Quarter
This is the fruit of all the stimulus.
Some blame the weather. The economy’s tepid growth stalled and shrank 1% in the months from January to April. Ever since “The Great Recession” supposedly ended in 2009, the economy has oozed forward and many said the winter storms slowed growth to a little as 1%. However, economists crunched the numbers and said the nation slid backwards. The Wall Street Journal reports, “Many economists had hoped 2014 would be a breakout year for growth, encouraged by an economy that grew at a 3.4% pace in the second half of 2013. Those hopes have been deferred – if not yet dashed – by the recent weak stretch.” After years of buyouts, stimulus spending, tax increases and ObamaCare, we now have an economy so fragile a few good winter storms can stall us. More…