June 1 marked the fifth anniversary of the Great Recession’s official end, according to the economists who track such things.
This month also marks the fourth anniversary of the Obama administration’s “Recovery Summer” public relations campaign to promote the effects of the feds’ $878 billion stimulus plan.
But for most Americans, the Great Recession is still a present day reality, regardless of what the experts say.
From CNN.com:
“The majority of Americans still rate economic conditions as ‘poor’ and for good reason: This jobs recovery is the slowest on record, wages are barely rising, home prices are still below their peak and more Americans are using food stamps than ever before.
“Main Street America still doesn’t feel recovered, because, quite frankly, it’s not.
“ … Each American – including children – is about $4,700 a year worse off than they would have been if the economy had not gone into recession, calculates Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Of course, some are better and some are worse off than that, but that’s the average loss.”
This dour report comes on the heels of news that the U.S. economy actually shrank by 1 percent in the first three months of this year, and that the labor force participation rate is the lowest it’s been since 1979.
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