A small sacrifice to be rid of the mean tweets!
The economy grew last quarter at a vigorous 6.4% annual rate, the government said Thursday, and expectations are that the current quarter will be even better. The number of people seeking unemployment aid — a rough reflection of layoffs — last week reached its lowest point since the pandemic struck. Has it beat the previous administration's low unemployment numbers yet?
Economists say that widespread
Wow, and the latest government 'stimulus' hasn't even hit the streets yet! Other than the $1400 per person, legal and illegal.
As American consumers have stepped up their spending in recent months, they have consumed physical goods far more than they have services, like haircuts, airline tickets and restaurant meals: Spending on goods accelerated at an annual pace of nearly 24% last quarter; services spending rose at a rate below 5%.
Blowing the money we saved on vacations last year -- consumer goods and services.
Online sites that have capitalized on goods purchases during the pandemic — from Amazon to Etsy to eBay — are under pressure to show they can sustain accelerating growth even as consumers look more toward services and less on goods. So far, Amazon, the dominant site by far, is hardly showing signs of slowing down. On Thursday, it reported that its first-quarter profit more than tripled from a year ago, fueled by online shopping.
I use Amazon to review my options, then purchase somewhere else.
The renewed strength in the United States — the largest economy — is helping lead the developed world out of recession. In Europe, for instance, a recovery has lagged because of smaller government aid and slower vaccination rollouts that have prolonged lockdowns. Economists at Berenberg Bank estimate that the 19 countries that use the euro currency actually contracted in the first quarter.
Perhaps they won't be bankrupt as quickly as the U.S.
For all the U.S. economy’s gains, it still has a long way to go. More than 8 million jobs remain lost to the pandemic. And the recovery remains sharply uneven: Most college-educated and white collar employees have been able to work from home over the past year. Many have even built up savings and expanded their wealth from rising home values and a record-setting stock market, which has rocketed more than 80% from March of last year.
Homes and the market are - at this point - paper gains. If you sell your house in some places, you can't even find another one to replace it.
By contrast, job cuts have fallen heavily on low-wage workers, racial minorities and people without college educations. In addition, many women, especially working mothers, have had to leave the workforce to care for children.
Fortunately, Uncle Sugar will help them out of their pit of despair.
A major reason for the brightening expectations is the record-level federal spending that is poised to flow into the economy. A $1.9 trillion package that President Joe Biden got through Congress in March provided, among other rescue aid, $1,400 stimulus payments to most adults. On top of that, Biden is proposing two additional huge spending plans: a $2.3 trillion infrastructure package and a $1.8 trillion investment in children, families and education that the president promoted Wednesday night in his first address to a joint session of Congress.Cementing his legacy as his mentor failed to do in his first two terms.