Thursday, October 29, 2009

Obama Speaks to Small Business on Economic Growth

GDP growth progress but jobs need to grow, Obama said:

The economy is growing again, thanks to the stimulus. To see what that growth looks like, check this out.
The U.S. economy, propelled by stimulus-driven gains in consumer spending and home building, grew at a 3.5 percent pace from July through September, the first expansion in more than a year. Bloomberg
Kathleen Stephansen, chief economist at Aladdin Capital Management LLC, warns that the growth is mostly due to the stimulus. People still aren't spending and there hasn't been any increases in wages. Amen. That means jobs will take longer to recover.
Obama speaking in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building:
"I am gratified that our economy grew in the third quarter of this year. We've come a long way since the first three months of 2009, when our economy shrunk by an alarming 6.4 percent. In fact, the 3.5 percent growth in the third quarter is the largest three-month gain we have seen in two years. This is obviously welcome news and an affirmation that this recession is abating and the steps we’ve taken have made a difference," he said. "But I also know that we've got a long way to go to fully restore our economy, and recover from what has been the longest and deepest downturn since the Great Depression."
In opening remarks to the group - which included members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - the president acknowledged Karen Mills, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, who was running late and Obama said would arrive "in a hot second." Politico
Christina Romer on the GDP growth: