from
USA Today
Quote:
7.2% GDP growth fastest in 19 years
By Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in nearly two decades in the third quarter, signaling the three-year slowdown that has left millions of Americans jobless might finally be over.
Gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of activity within the USA — grew an annualized 7.2% in July, August and September, the biggest gain since 1984 and more than twice the 3.3% increase measured in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
"Pop the champagne corks," Bank One chief economist Diane Swonk says. "It's very much vindication that the U.S. economy is moving from a lackluster economy to a more rooted recovery."
Economists credited record mortgage refinancings, which pared monthly payments and freed cash, and tax cuts signed into law in late May. That included a $14 billion bonus for parents that hit mailboxes right before the back-to-school shopping season.
Consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of all activity in the $10 trillion economy, soared 6.6%, the biggest gain in more than five years.
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Hmm...biggest in 19 years. Quick quiz: Who was in office 19 years ago?
That crashing sound you heard was the hopes of the Democrat candidates in 2004 [img]graemlins/evillaughter1.gif[/img]