TIME Magazine sucks for this cover story. The headline: THE WIMPY RECOVERY. Yes the economy's getting stronger, so why does it still feel weak?
Uh-huh. Feel? Who cares how it feels? The numbers show real growth in almost every economic indicator -- the DJIA is stronger than ever, GDP is positive and growing, unemployment is dropping, job creation is way up, etc, etc -- in spite of the apocalyptic depth of the 2007/08/09 crash.
How does it feel? Math has nothing to do with feelings, and the numbers don't lie.
And besides, if the recovery was fast and robust, the headline would be something about the next bubble and when it will likely burst. Maybe with a photo of a kitten inside a bubble or something stupid like that.
It's this kind of no-win trap created by the press that keeps our economy in an endless loop of bubbles and recessions. What they should be writing and talking about is how Americans would do well to be patient with a steady growth economy for once, because it will be sustainable in the long run, rather than helping to artificially inflate a bubble for the sake of expedience.
Instead, this kind of impatience fed back into the national discourse reinforces the existence of quick-fixes or, worse, convinces voters to offer a second chance to the Reaganomics-driven party that caused the shitty economy in the first place (see also the 2010 midterms).