Where is the US economy headed?

I've copped ci being on opposite sides on another thread inside 5 minutes George. It doesn't bother him in the slightest.

What is it then? Special pleading with a scientific name.

Of course it's a science. The fact that people pose as economists who are not, just as many others pose as scientists who are not, is neither here nor there. That's just a question of you being spellbound by rhetorical wizards.

Cyclo, The only reason the economy "grew" at all during the past year is based on the simple fact that the government gave tax credits to those who bought homes. Without that tax credit, our real GDP would have shown a loss. I have read some articles recently that still shows that about 25% of home owners are having difficulty meeting their mortgage payments. This is on top of more layoffs at all levels government workers. (The GOP wants to reduce the size of government.) This means that the housing market will still continue on its downward trend for many years to come, and more people will be losing their homes.

With nothing to stop this trend from getting worse, I opt to see the feds spend money on our infrastructure. Most economists agree that a good infrastructure is necessary for a strong economy.

spendi, Please provide evidence from any credible source that Economics is science.

Does the pub being packed tonight for the karaokie and the chubby ladies having a high old time kicking their legs up count?

Consult your economics professors. There's probably plenty for you to go at.

I didn't write the line you attributed to me.

Cycloptichorn

This sub-thread is getting silly. You can value in a public intellectual whatever you want. So if personal sympathy and ideological proximity matters more to you than competence (which a Nobel Prize in the sciences is a measure of), that's your problem. I can't help you with it.

Digging into the GDP numbers out today:
> Overall GDP (a definition can be provided) was up 3.2% in the 4th Q vs 3.2% in the 3rd and was the best Q in 2010.
> But we need GDP to grow by 5% in order to make a dent in unemployment.
> Consumer spending was up 4.4% in the 4th Q and could rise due to the reduction in the payroll tax that kicked in at the 1st of the year.
> The Fed kept the dollar valued low (artificially low, in my opinion) which made our exports cheaper and imports higher. That helped GDP.
> The dollar surged today as a result of events in Egypt. Investors are seeking a place to park money midst the uncertainty.
> Similarly, after declining for a few days, oil jumped something like 4% today.
> Business inventories spiked by $121Bn in the 3rd Q but dropped to $7Bn in the 4th. Companies perhaps thought the economy was improving but are now rethinking that.
> Wages were up 2% for those people who have jobs, but the unemployment rate is expected to be 9.5% in January and only fall to 8.9% by the end of 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/user/NewWorldKnowing#p/u/0/rOMqTUrW2W0

Wow. Video from an hour ago from the Oct 6th bridge.

If we are going to call it the Oct 6th bridge Do we not need to explain why, "so that other viewers will not misunderstand?

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/latest-updates-on-protests-in-egypt/#an-audio-report-from-cairo

spendi, You ask me to ask a economics professor, because you can't? That's your problem, not mine.

Interesting. The data so far is a bit ambiguous but it does appear that the UK economy either contracted a bit or stagnated during the last quarter and that early indications of inflation are also detectable - all this after fairly good economic response during the past two quarters. The Conservative government has both increased taxes, raising the VAT from about 17% to 20% and significantly reduced spending. Hard yet to declare either victory or defeat.

Would you say that the US government's response to date the same economic crisis has been any more (or less) effective?

I don't consider Al Gore to be a "public intellectual". Moreover I have my doubts about Krugman as well. Do you believe that the various Nobel Committees are the gold standard for academic excellence? Do you believe that politics occasionally enters their decision-making?

Neither Gore nor Krugman considers you a public intellectual, so the playing field is level.

Do you have reason to believe they think about me at all? Or do you just instinctively know what they think?

Your disdain needed to be put into perspective. Is there anyone you like?

I don't need to. I know economics is a science. It was you who said it wasn't.

You continue to remain ignorant about evolution and economics. You need to get out of your cloister and seek information outside of your current world. You think you're well-read, but all it has done is it made you think you are well-read without the knowledge of the real world.

If economics is a science, please explain it to us in your own words. You might educate some of us who studied Economics in college.