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Fed: Economy “decelerating”
The Fed’s latest Beige Book report is out and shows an economic pulse that’s barely beating:
The U.S. economy continued growing this summer but “with widespread signs of deceleration,” according to a new report on business conditions around the country.
The Federal Reserve’s “beige book,” an eight-times-a-year compilation of anecdotal information from companies in the 12 Fed districts, offers a portrait of an uncertain economic moment in which growth has slowed in much of the United States.
“Economic growth at a modest pace was the most common characterization of overall conditions,” said the report, released Wednesday afternoon and based on interviews with businesspeople from mid-July through the end of August. However, five of the regional Fed banks east of the Mississippi River “highlighted mixed conditions or deceleration in overall economic activity.”
[…]
The anecdotal information contained in the beige book is consistent with a slew of economic reports showing that the burst of growth in late 2009 and early 2010 has not persisted through the summer, as the impact of businesses rebuilding their inventories and fiscal stimulus fades.
Therein lies the failure of Keynesian government spending used to stimulate demand. It generally is a one-time shot in the arm and does little to promote sustainable long-term growth.
Democrat party fail and the myth of the “last eight years”
It’s about time Democrats start accepting some responsibility of the ship they’ve been running for the better part of three years now.
Via Instapundit, a Goy and His Blog notes:
The horror of “the last 8 years” has become it’s own self-perpetuating meme. The problem is that it’s a meme without meaning. Two of those eight years – now stretched to three out of the last nine – saw fiscal and regulatory policies determined by the Democrat Congressional majority, elected in 2006. Every economic indicator available shows that this is where America’s recent tribulations began.
The real horror – the years since the Democrat Congress rose to absolute power – hasn’t seen much discussion. It’s “all Bush’s fault”, as they say. But as the last ten years recede into the rear view mirror, we can see them in context. And 20/20 hindsight can often be quite revealing.
And if they don’t take most of the responsibility, which I’m sure they won’t, the Republicans need to force it on them come the midterm campaign, and establish that narrative.
I wrote along these lines back in January and how Republicans need to keep pointing out this fact. I’m not excusing the blatant excessive spending of the Republicans back during the Bush administration. But as Goy notes in his post, those years are quickly receding.
One other point worth noting–the entire “success” of the Obama administration and to an extent, that of Democrats in control, depends on the “Bush and Republicans screwed things up and we’re making it better” meme. This is made easier thanks to a complicit media. If Republicans want to roll back healthcare, if they want to stop whatever more economic destruction the Obama Democrats want to bring down on the country from now until November, Republicans need to grow a backbone and fight back–hard.
Who’s talking…