Friday, September 11, 2009  It's The Economy, Stupid!  Today's
subject: a bird's-eye view of the US economy (it's a big
economy, so the bird sees a lot and the post is, necessarily,
quite long).   • Comparing the pre-recession economy in 2006
with 2Q2009, the country's GDP is made up as follows (all
numbers in current dollars): Data: BEA  From this perspective,
the major - in fact, the only - negative development in the
economy is a plunge (-33%) in gross private investment, i.e.
spending on plant, equipment and services by the country's
businesses plus investment in residential property (i.e. homes).
Personal consumption held up well, government spending rose
significantly and net exports became a much smaller negative
factor, as the trade deficit shrunk fast (but this is no cause
for macro economists to celebrate since it came about due to (a)
lower imported crude oil prices and (b) fewer imports of
consumer goods).   • The next chart breaks down the economy in
sectors, percentage-wise: While personal consu