My Newest Fox News Piece: Yes, the Economy Is Growing But Obama's Policies Are Not Helping

My newest piece at Fox News starts this way:

The economy grew slightly faster during the third quarter. But the newly released numbers mean that for the year GDP has only grown at an incredibly slow 1.4 percent, barely keeping pace with population growth.  The change in per capita GDP so far this year is essentially zero.

Normally the more severe the recession, the faster is the recovery.  During the Reagan administration, for same three quarters, GDP grew at 4.8 percent.  Since the Obama recovery started in June 2009, GDP growth has averaged 2.5 percent, compared to 6 percent over the same time period under Reagan.  The quarterly growth rates for the two recoveries are available here. 

Obviously, more people working would result in more income.  The slow GDP growth is tied to the continued record high unemployment. Unemployment has remained at least at 9 percent for 27 months and counting, a post World War II record.  While the unemployment rate during the recession in the early 1980s went higher, reaching 10.8 percent, the high rates did not last as long, staying above 9 percent for a relatively short 19 months. . . .