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A Florida man works a street corner hoping to land a job on June 3, 2011. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
With increasing signs that the economy is laboring, most economists agree that a short-term infusion of spending, or an extension of this year's temporary cut in Social Security taxes, could help fend off a new downturn.
But whatever one thinks of the debt deal
—and most of its billions in cuts won't come for a few years—there's a near-consensus in Washington against spending increases.
Here's a brief overview of some key stats on where the economy stands.
The economy by your numbers (suggested by our readers on Twitter):
What stats best describe our economy? Tweet at @ProPublica or email Braden. Make sure to include your source.
Yves
Yesterday, 4:33 p.m.
Great snapshot…thanks.
m.a.s.
Yesterday, 4:37 p.m.
You left out how many billions in cash the banks, etc. are sitting on, not hiring…
John
Yesterday, 4:46 p.m.
I suspect that the most important statistic is (maybe necessarily) missing: The number of jobs offshored during the ‘90s after Washington declared us a “service economy” or “information economy.” Patents here, jobs there. GHW Bush and Clinton both repeatedly told us it’d be great, because they always need more peons to water their lawns.
And then the darn People screwed up that sweet deal by wanting subsitence wages for their time and labor, requiring that we truck illegal immigrants into the country to replace us greedy bastards.
I guess it’s better to pass laws to convict us without trial for downloading copyrighted material (PIPA/S968 - and reading library books, perhaps?) and mandate spying on us (HR1981, the stereotypical “think of the children!” bill) than to just stop giving tax breaks to enormous companies for offshoring jobs. Gotta have priorities, right?
Andee
Yesterday, 4:53 p.m.
And don’t forget that we paid $1.7 Billion over the last 2 weeks in interest alone, while the legislative body whose job it is to do such things, played political keystone cops with the ‘debt ceiling.’ You know, that redundant maneuver to agree to pay the debt that was already designated by congress…How much of a boost to the economy could we have given with THAT amount of money? Where are the jobs Mr Boehner?
Chl
Yesterday, 4:53 p.m.
“most economists agree that a short-term infusion of spending..could help fend off a new downturn”
But this could get Obama re-elected and we don’t want that, do we? Better that the economy tanks and we slide back into recession and that people hurt and lose hope just so that the “right” people take power in 2012. The end justifies the means.
Chawn A. Whitsitt
Yesterday, 5:02 p.m.
Increased economic stratification; everyone knows that the top 1% of the population in the USA are earning, grossing, keeping more finances than the majority of citizens in USA. Continue to reap rich rewards and the blame will aim towards the real culprits. People are starving and suffering while others are believing they are in heaven and the livelihood of millions will not touch them, think again, its inevitable. Blame, create and spin, truth always wins out sooner or later.
Bill
Yesterday, 5:56 p.m.
I’m simple not smart enough or educated enough to put into words my feelings over this debt ceiling crisis and the future econmy of this country.
I’m also sick of hearing about the past economies and some president or a congress that sparked it back to life.
you think we have unemployment now, Wait until the cutbacks in our military, “god forbid”. send the troops home and release them to the field of unemployment?
This countries day of glory is gone without federal help..that takes money? we can’t even pretend to employ without moneys much less strive for a new future without some spending and the direction it goes to…cause starting up the past tech know how and ability to learn is all but gone.
how sad, such a short run of leadereship and giving it all away to upstart countries that are more than willing and have accrued everything we as Americans created and are now more than willing to carry the ball in every field and most of all education.
i’m old, have many health problems but if I live long enough will do everything in my power with-in the law to see no one who voted down the 2011 debt limit, be it dem,rep or independant doesn’t get elected again. whatever their self driving motives may be.
It’s funny, I voted against Obama and went with McCain..What a stupid mistake..most of all after he went before his own party and said vote yes then voted a big fat no….( he should take a tour in his own state and “really” see what the unemployed are going thru) Dear john, Their are other ways than just hurting those already down!
Sorry, One very upset old man..but thanks for at least reading!
Curtis Bash
Yesterday, 6:02 p.m.
The problem is I have a republican governor and he is compelled to follow the GOP agenda that means he is more interested in taking food out of our mouths with no help for jobs.
Jim
Yesterday, 6:13 p.m.
From the earliest days of our independence and even before, America struggled from a lack of low cost labor and while the South relied upon slavery to remedy this problem, the less agrarian North looked to greater mechanization to multiply the output of individuals. The problem, however, became acute following the Civil War when slavery was abolished and most of an entire generation of young men were either killed or crippled in the conflict. Opening the floodgates to millions of Eastern and Southern European immigrants closed the gap during the decades leading up to the start of the 20th Century. Inevitably these “teeming masses”, however, dissatisfied with the exploitive wages and conditions employers of the time routinely provided, threatened the very foundation of cheap mass production that was at the heart of our economic miracle. Increasingly, industrialists turned again to ever more mechanization as the remedy, embracing the “golden fleece” of progress….productivity. The manpower requirements levied by our participation in two world wars again made the labor shortage acute and was met by ever more machines and even women to operate them. Rebuilding a shattered world after 1945 bought us a few decades of near full employment, but even through this period, the manufacturing sector of our economy needed fewer hands thanks to productivity. Most of the displaced found employment in a growing service sector distributing and selling our abundance to ourselves. Now we are arrived at a point when oceans and continents no longer are effective barriers to the profitable transfer of goods. With vast low wage labor markets now open for exploitation, even superior local productivity is outmatched. Barring another world cataclism which somehow leaves us unscathed, there is no painless escape from our dilemma.
Maury Clark
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