GDP Economic Growth Lowest In A Year
 The GDP is once again falling; photo credit: bionicteaching The news out today on our tattered economy is not good – the Washington Post is reporting that due to the lack of consumer spending and soaring imports, our economy grew at a less than a stellar pace. The anemic GDP growth, 2.4%, was revised from the projected GDP 3.7%. This rate of the GDP is not high enough to put a dent into the unemployment numbers, and the lack of consumer spending does not help. The short term prospects for economic growth doesn’t look good either, because several growth indicators are predicted to falter in the second half of the year. The biggest catalyst affecting the GDP growth was the almost 30% increase in imports, as compared to the 10.3% gains in exports – most economists will tell you that the import/ export numbers should be reversed for ideal economic growth. There was growth from the federal government, which rose by some 9.2% annual rate… with a 13% rise in non-defense spending. This government rise in growth was due in part to the stimulus, but it is scheduled to taper off later in the year. Growth also came from businesses replenishing their inventories. The news wasn’t all bad; business investment is soaring to the tune of 21.9 % – much done on software and equipment, but this growth too is expected to be on the wane later in the |
