The Wall Street Journal reports:
So much for the growth boom. Friday’s report that the economy grew only 2.6% in last year’s fourth quarter was disappointing, not least because it would have been worse without the fillip for consumers from falling oil prices.
Economists were hoping for the growth momentum from the previous two quarters to kick the economy onto a higher plane above 3%, but instead growth slipped back closer to this subpar recovery’s norm. The composition of fourth-quarter growth is also cause for some concern.
There's more:
We looked through the interactive historical tables at the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which reports annual GDP back to 1930, and we couldn’t find another stretch this long of such mediocre growth. The economy last hit the 3% annual growth milestone in 2005 (3.3%) following 3.8% in 2004 and from 2003-2006 it averaged roughly about 3.15%.
The years since 2006 have been such an extended period of underperformance that some people are treating 2.6% as if it’s splendid news. The White House was positively chipper on Friday. But 2.6% year after year isn’t fast enough growth to lift incomes for most Americans.
Another failed chapter in Keynesian economics. It's poor form to mention this but before there was a central bank and an income , economic growth was much, much higher. Economic growth
averaged 3.7% between 1869 and 1913 !
