The uneven economic recovery

There’s talk of the economy recovering, which is a good thing.  Yes, Obama will take credit for it, despite the fact that his massive spending bill has barely touched the economy, but that’s small potatoes.  What matters is that we’re not hovering anymore at the brink of economic collapse.

Still, I observed something interesting the other day.  This is an utterly casual observation.  It’s not based on any studies or even any deep understanding of economics.  It’s just that, when I check out NewsFifty, the site that allows you to click through headlines from all fifty states, I immediately see two trends:   First, the economic recovery is incredibly uneven, with some states rejiggering themselves and some still stagnant (and I leave you to figure out whether it’s the laissez faire or the government control states that are coming back faster).  Second, all states still report incredibly high unemployment.  So there is something of a recovery, but it’s not necessarily anything to boast about yet.

Also, Pierre LeGrand has some statistics that show just how uneven and, possibly meaningless, any “recovery” is right now.