So Much for All That Economic Optimism

Obama administration officials have been pushing cautious optimism lately, while touting any glimmers of hope for the economy. But some new numbers out today unfortunately do little to justify any optimism. The economy shrank much more rapidly than expected during the first quarter — by 6.1 percent — turning in its worst performance in five decades, Bloomberg reports.

The decline in the gross domestic product reflected dwindling inventories and further problems in the housing sector, according to Bloomberg. And if all this isn’t scary enough, here’s more:

Should the economy shrink again in the second quarter as projected by economists surveyed this month by Bloomberg, the recession that began in December 2007 would be the longest since the Great Depression.

With fresh evidence of a contracting economy, that Great Depression reference seems a little too close for comfort these days.