The Economy is good, struggling, fundamentally strong, incredibly weak, somewhere in-between, but definitely bad…

posted by Bill Arnett @ 1:06 PM Permalink

…which should surprise no one with the bogus numbers and obfuscating language used by the government to deliberately confuse the public.

See this article from the NYT titled, "Economic Growth Is Revised Higher," and read the quotes:

The economy grew at a faster pace than originally estimated in the first quarter, the government said on Thursday, but the nation remained mired in its most stagnant period of growth in five years. [Translation: Our economy would have to die to feel better. Bill]

Gross domestic product, a measure of overall economic growth, expanded at an annual rate of 0.9 percent in the first three months, according to a Commerce Department report. That was higher than the initial estimate, released a month ago, which had put the growth rate at 0.6 percent. [Translation: "Happy days are here again…," Bill]

The government revised its figures because imports dipped more than expected in the first quarter, narrowing the trade deficit. Smaller demand for imports meant less money flowed out of American businesses into foreign countries, pushing up domestic bottom lines and, in turn, the overall growth rate. [Translation: We're too broke to keep buying so many imported goods so it appears to look good when it really ain't. Bill]

But demand for imports fell because Americans were buying less. The bleak economic outlook has made many Americans more hesitant to spend, especially on large-scale purchases like cars and kitchen appliances. [Self-explanatory (S-e)] Bill][…]

…despite the nominal increase in the G.D.P. figure, the revised report still showed an economy struggling to tread water as the housing slump and a crisis of confidence in the credit markets weighed on investments and buying.[S-e. Bill][…]

Inventories slipped slightly, signaling that businesses are producing fewer goods in anticipation of slack consumer demand. Imports dipped 2.6 percent, revised down from an initial estimate of a 2.5 percent increase. [Huh? Down is up, up is down. Bill][…]

“There is no end in sight to the economic slump,” Joshua Shapiro, an economist at the research firm MFR, wrote in a note to clients. [Got to have it both ways, this guy must be the optimist of the group. Bill]

The Commerce Department also provides data on inflation, almost all of which remained unchanged from last month’s initial estimate. Prices rose at a 2.6 percent annualized rate in the first quarter, following an increase of 2.4 percent in the final quarter of 2007. [Remains unchanged, but prices rose at 2.6% following last quarters 2.4%. No inflation here, move along, move along. Bill]

Data on the G.D.P. is regularly revised; the Commerce Department’s final estimates for the first quarter will be released June 26. [Which means, "Wait for numbers we cannot possibly backup as they are poorly made estimates at best." Bill]

…Thursday, the Labor Department said that the number of new applications for unemployment insurance rose to 372,000 last week, seasonally adjusted. The increase, of 4,000 claims, was slightly more than economists had anticipated. [Meaning that once again they did not see the obvious coming straight at them - and these are the people we trust to lay out our economic status with some modicum of accuracy? Bill]

This has been a public service provided by VidiotSpeak, an organization dedicated to exposing idiocy in government and their nonsensical financial reports.

Labels: Economy, snark