CMI Report — BEA Adjusts Second Quarter GDP Growth Rate Upward

Summary

Even at face value the reported 1.34% growth rate is either sluggish or pathetic, depending on your chosen inclination to spin. When a more reasonable "deflater" is used to calculate the "real" numbers, the second quarter is actually shown to be in contraction. And when using such alternative BLS inflation data the most recent past quarter is the 2nd consecutive "real" quarter to have such negative growth -- meeting one of the common definitions of a new recession.

The restive public clearly understands this -- even if the academicians at the BEA don't. The public has been seeing their (per-capita) "slice of the pie" contract now for six months, and no amount of well spun "sluggish growth" can alter their view of a shrinking reality.

See complete CMI report at Consumer Metrics Institute, BEA Adjusts Second Quarter GDP Growth Rate Upward