GOT IDEAS?

Congratulations to macroeconomic policymakers! GDP comes in .2% higher than expectations, at 1.6%. The economy needs about 2.5% growth just to keep unemployment from rising and even higher to actually bring it down. Forget about energy demand growth of any significance.

With consumers, those that are actually working, still fearful of unemployment and foreclosure the 2% rise in personal consumption are drops in the ocean. Double dip; that is a misnomer because there wasn't really much of a recovery to speak of.

Capital markets rose through 2nd half of 2009, but wasn't there economy supposed to be chugging back to prosperity by now. Remember the G-whatever meetings of early 2009 where political leaders pledged coordination of policy? Europe can't even get out of its own way.

But the happy talk continues from Bernanke and Geithner, couched in euphemisms like Geithner's, “we’re on the road to recovery.” No, we aren’t. The Fed, the Administration and Congress have painted themselves into a corner. All they have done is postpone the Apocalypse, it still threatens.

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