The US economy grew at a slower pace than previously estimated in the three months to the end of September. Growth is supposedly good, but in reality, it’s only good if it is driven by productivity gains. US growth is mostly fueled by population gains and price growth. The corporate system is completely reliant on constantly growing profits to sustain itself, otherwise it would collapse. That is why the US government is always encouraging population growth. Over a decade ago, the population growth in the US virtually stagnated. That’s why the US government continues to encourage immigration despite a dearth of jobs. More people means more mouths to feed and bodies to clothe. That stimulates demand and increases corporate profits. It’s also why the government is always determined to understate the growth in prices. Higher prices means greater profits, which means more redistributing of wealth and income from the 99 to the 1 percent. Anyway, back to the revised third quarter growth issue.
Revised figures from the US Commerce Department show gross domestic product grew at an annual pace of 1.8% in the period, down from the previous estimate of 2% and first estimate of 2.5%.
“The downward revision was largely due to lower consumer expenditure than previously thought.” Obviously, we need more mouths to feed and bodies to clothe in order to redistribute income and wealth from the 99 percent to the one percent.
Separate figures showed a fall in weekly unemployment benefit claims. This is probably because most people who are going to lose their jobs have done so already. At least until the economy begins another downward move.
Initial claims for state benefits dropped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 364,000, the Labor Department said – the lowest level since April 2008.
Analysts stressed that the outlook for US economy had changed slightly since the third quarter.
“[The revised data] suggests the economy had less momentum going into the fourth quarter than we’d expected, but more recent reports suggest a stronger rate of growth for the fourth quarter, so that offsets the downward revision,” said Omer Esiner, an analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange. Esiner’s statement shows one thing. He’s pretty stupid or ignorant.
“Jobless claims are a case in point. They continue to show an encouraging trend of declining claims. I think that reinforces the notion that the economy has strengthened in the fourth quarter.”
