June 7, 2011
The Once and Future Dips of the US Economy
by Bill Bonner
Daily Reckoning
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Everything that has happened over the last 4 years confirms that our “Great Correction” hypothesis was right. This economy is going through major adaptations, adjustments and rehabilitation. And by the look of things, it’s going to be in an out of rehab for a long time.
The latest reports show:
1) No real growth
2) No real recovery
3) No end to the unemployment problem
4) No bottom in the real estate crisis
5) No benefit from QE2
The numbers that came out on Friday were just more bullets shot into a corpse. We knew the economic recovery was dead. But the non-farm payroll numbers killed it again anyway.
The Labor Department reported 54,000 new jobs in May. If this were a real recovery, the number would be over 150,000. Instead, this number shows that the actual number of people with jobs is increasing, not decreasing.
So, the people who live by the sweat of their brow are left idling on the seats of their pants. They have no jobs. And the hope of finding a decent job is receding.
Not only are there few jobs, real wages are going down too. And never before have American working classes taken home such a small portion of national income.
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And it’s not going to get better anytime soon. Because, if we’re right, we’re already in a double-dip recession. That is, properly adjusted for first quarter consumer price inflation, the economy is not growing at a 1.8% annual rate; it’s shrinking at 1.8%.
And if we’re right, this double-dip will be followed by a period of weak growth…followed by a triple dip. And then a quadruple dip. And then a quintuple dip.
Full story: http://dailyreckoning.com/the-once-and-future-dips-of-the-us-economy/
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