rssThe New Normal: High Unemployment and Slower Growth
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 9:15 am
- 4 Comments
The U.S. economy may never return to the days of rapid expansion, Bloomberg reports, and an unemployment rate greater than eight percent and a long period of slower growth may become the “new normal,”
The U.S. financial crisis and recession have produced lasting shifts in consumer spending and savings reminiscent of the 1950s that may crimp profits and productivity, said David Rosenberg, chief economist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates Inc. in Toronto and former chief North American economist at Bank of America Corp.
“This is going to be a new era of frugality,” Rosenberg said. “This isn’t some flashy two- or three-quarter deal. This is a secular change in household attitudes.”
Rosenberg also says the new normal will resemble in some way the Eisenhower years of the 1950s — which is not necessarily a bad thing.
“Life wasn’t so bad for the Cleavers,” he said, referring to the family depicted in “Leave It to Beaver,” the television show that ran from 1957 through 1963. “They weren’t up to their eyeballs in debt and they weren’t a three-car family with a 5,000-square-foot McMansion.”
The “new normal” is an interesting perspective, considering many economists are looking for signs the economy has bottomed out. But when, specifically, the downturn ends may not really matter. Maybe we should be thinking instead about what kind of recovery lies ahead.
4 Comments
Comment posted May 26, 2009 @ 8:23 am
this has been coming for some time. this country has a FAKE i repeat FAKE economy that has finally hit the wall. two massive pump and dump bubbles in a ten year period, massive amounts of $ for the 5 sided black hole, two wars all put on the national credit card. good jobs going to the low cost centers all the while bringing in cheap labor with visas and illegally. 2/3 of this fake economy is morons going to china-mart and buying garbage with a piece of plastic? it all started 30 years ago with that loser who was in kings row. glad to see it finally happening.
Pingback posted May 26, 2009 @ 2:34 pm
[...] in Daily life at 11:34 am by LeisureGuy Mary Kane in the Washington Independent: The U.S. economy may never return to the days of rapid expansion, Bloomberg reports, and an [...]
Comment posted May 26, 2009 @ 3:23 pm
this has been coming for some time. this country has a FAKE i repeat FAKE economy that has finally hit the wall. two massive pump and dump bubbles in a ten year period, massive amounts of $ for the 5 sided black hole, two wars all put on the national credit card. good jobs going to the low cost centers all the while bringing in cheap labor with visas and illegally. 2/3 of this fake economy is morons going to china-mart and buying garbage with a piece of plastic? it all started 30 years ago with that loser who was in kings row. glad to see it finally happening.
Comment posted April 17, 2010 @ 9:36 pm
“Economic Growth” is synonymous with “population growth” in the U.S. Population growth has become the NEW EVIL now that we are on the brink of another mass extinction of species and resource depletion. So, “non-economic growth” = GOOD. “Pro-economic growth” = BAD. Let's stop multiplying like rabbits (250,000 net new people added to the Earth EACH DAY), and start shrinking back to where we can crap a little into the streams and it doesn't matter.
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