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The Daily Signal
The Economy
Just Had the Strongest Growth in a Quarter Since 2009
Curtis Dubay
December 23, 2014
There is no doubt that the economy has languished in its recovery from
the Great Recession, which ended more than five years ago. But signs
are emerging that it is finally shaking free the weight of President
Obama’s anti-growth policies.
The latest bit of good news is that the economy grew at 5 percent in
the third quarter (July 1 to Sept. 30) of this year. This is the
strongest growth of any quarter since the recession ended in June 2009.
The economy grew at 4.6 percent in the second quarter, so the economy
appears to be picking up steam.
Growth was driven primarily by increases in consumer spending, business
investment, government spending and exports.
Five percent is robust growth, but the economy still has not
experienced a breakout period of exemplary growth that is typical of
recoveries from severe recession. For instance, a year after the
similarly deep 1981 to 1982 recession, the economy had three successive
quarters where growth exceeded 8 percent. In the second quarter of
1983, the economy grew an astounding 9.4 percent.
This shows that, although today’s numbers are good, the economy still
needs a sustained period of even stronger growth to get back to where
it should be.
Hopefully, the economy grows even faster in the fourth quarter of 2014,
which ends in a week, so it can build on its current momentum. With gas
prices low, the unemployment rate falling and consumers buying during
the holiday season, there is every reason to expect it will.
A finally recovering economy does not mean policymakers in Washington
can assume their job is done and ignore the economy. They still need to
reform the tax code, reform entitlements, fix the problems caused by
the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation and clean up the damage
wrought by overregulation during the Obama years to remove the biggest
government-imposed barriers to prolonged economic growth.
Read this and other articles with links at The Daily Signal
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