The US economy grew at an annualized rate of just 1.1 percent in the last quarter. Most analysts expected a figure in the neighborhood of 2.0 percent. Historically, 2.5 to 3.0 percent was considered feasible and healthy. We have a lot of ground to make up.
Weak growth and high inflation call to mind the economic woes of the 1970s. But things aren’t that dire yet. The misery index — the sum of the unemployment and inflation rates — peaked in mid-1980 at 21.92. Right now it’s 8.48, thanks to an unusually strong labor market. But we shouldn’t be satisfied with “less bad than the Carter era.” We need to rev up America’s economic engine to unleash broad-based prosperity.