Small, Tiny or Infinitesimal?

0.4%

I wanted to set out the latest estimate of the growth rate of the US economy in larger type.  It is the only way that number could look big.

This morning, the latest revision of the GDP growth rate pushed the level all the way up to just under half a percent per year.  To put this into context, at this rate, it would take twelve years for the economy to grow 5%.  By means of comparison, in 1984 when Ronald Reagan was in office the same length as Barack Obama was in 2012, the growth rate of the American economy was just under 8%.  That's 8% in a single year, not over twelve years.  For those who do not recall, Reagan took office after a terrible economic downturn.  Inflation was soaring, unemployment was high and the economy was stagnant.  Reagan's policies got us a roaring recovery with growth that spread prosperity across America.  Reagan did not stand around and blame problems on his predecessor; Reagan actually solved problems.  Many Americans have probably forgotten what it is like to have a problem solver rather than a problem creator as president.

For what it is worth, I have to add that I have seen three different articles in the mainstream media crowing about how the paltry growth rate is a sign of strength in the economy.  Back in Reagan's day, the same media used to write about how the recovery which ran at 20 times the rate of the Obama recovery was uneven.  It seems the mainstream media still does not understand economics.