The U.S. economy hit a new milestone in the first quarter of 2013: Annual output of goods and services eclipsed $16 trillion. The 2.5% growth pace in GDP through March seems like a wild night on the town after the 0.4% slog at the end of 2012.
That's the good news. The bad news is that this recovery is still half the pace of the normal expansion. The Joint Economic Committee reports that if the economy had grown at the typical pace coming out of recession, at this stage GDP would be closer to $17.4 trillion. This $1.4 trillion growth deficit is roughly the size of the combined annual production of Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania in 2011.
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