The Recovery Picks Up Steam
Posted at 11:45 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2012
Despite the possibility of a self-imposed recession next year, Neil Irwin notes that recent economic data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows a strengthening recovery if lawmakers can avoid the “fiscal cliff.”
“Personal consumption spending rose 0.4 percent and incomes rose 0.6 percent, according to one report. According to another, overall orders for durable goods rose 0.7 percent while a key measure of business investment, orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, rose a surprising 2.7 percent.”
“The personal income number is perhaps the single best piece of news in the day’s reports. In the last several months, Americans’ spending has risen steadily, but it hasn’t been matched by higher incomes… And the rise in incomes was driven in large part by an increase in wages and salaries—which is to say, more money in the pockets of workers, not just a rise in investment income.”
