Editor's Note: Be sure to catch Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN every Sunday at 10am and 1pm ET.
By Fareed Zakaria, CNN
At the start of this year, I predicted, rather hopefully, that the U.S. economy would recover nicely in 2012. I'm returning to that topic with some preliminary good news. If you look around the industrialized world, the U.S. economy is the most promising of the bunch.
The American recovery is not as vigorous as one might hope, but it is remarkably broad-based. Manufacturing is up - including, for the first time in thirty years, non-technology based manufacturing. Retail sales are up; consumer confidence and spending are growing. The new employment numbers are encouraging. American businesses continue to do astonishingly well. Corporate profitability continues to grow and the stock market reflects this.
The one area that continues to lag is housing, and it's a huge area. Traditionally, housing leads every recovery. This time it hasn't because the bursting of the housing bubble and the problems associated with mortgages and housing debt have left it struggling. But at some point that will end.
The United States, alone in the industrialized world, is demographically dynamic. It adds 3 million people to its numbers every year. At some point, kids don't want to live with their parents and that will produce demand for housing. And at that point, the recovery will gain full steam.
The new, potentially game-changing trend for the United States is the rise of shale gas. Thanks to the new process of fracking, America now has 75 years of natural gas - and most important, it is the world's low-cost producer.
The rise in gas prices has obscured this more important fact - energy costs are plummeting in America. That's why manufacturers like Dow Chemical are actually opening new factories in the United States. Asia has the advantage of lower labor costs, but now the U.S. has the advantage of lower energy costs. And this is a process that has just begun.
Add all this together, and you have the prospect of a broad-based, sustainable American recovery. Of course, there are dark clouds. Europe's woes could have an impact. China could slow down. But the event that is most likely to alter this picture is an Israeli strike on Iran, which would send oil prices sky-high and could have other spillover effects.
For more of my thoughts throughout the week, I invite you to follow me on Facebook and Twitter and to visit the Global Public Square every day. Be sure to catch GPS every Sunday at 10a.m. and 1p.m. EST. If you miss it, you can buy the show on iTunes.
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This guy needs to shut up. What makes him an economist? high school trainings in India?
Fareed went to Yale.
Yale? Well so did George Bush remember, but was still an idiot... college education doesn't necessarily make you an expert
He is a Muslim from India. He loves America.
Fareed went to Yale AND Harvard! He loves America and serves the country the best he can. America can't have enough of citizens like him. That America's economy is recovering is good news. It's also inevitable that China's economy slows down after decades of continuous growth. This phenomenon shows that the logic of the solar system works also for the theory of economic cycles, when the earth revolves around the sun.
And Obama went to Harvard....so what? We could compare the grades that Obama and Bush got during their time in the Ivy League....but Obama won't tell us his....one of many things he won't tell us about his past....
He also graduated from the prestigious (catholic) Catheral and Canon high school in Mumbai. He also graduated from Harvard. He had an outstanding academc record througout his life. If you do not agree with his views just say so. You need not insult him.
Estimated 7 million non-agricultural jobs are held by illegal aliens . (with stolen, or fake ID)
Jobs that could and should go to Americans. Push your state rep to make a change .
Google this: NUMBERSUSA .Once you are registered, go to the "action board" to
send free faxes to your state representative .
They are all typed up and ready to go, you just need to click your mouse to send.
No more illegal aliens in payroll jobs !
then get ready to not eat fruits and vegetables and not have your houses cleaned.
americans won't do the jobs the "illegals" are doing for below minimum wage.
And waht are your credentials, Brad, Jason and Knight4Justice? GED? Probably not.
He should demand his money back, 'cause he is still an idiot.
@Brad: Really, he hasn't been in college in decades what do his college grades matter. By your calculation both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are idiots cause they were "C" students. I don't know about you but that "D" I got in critical thinking didn't bother my soldiers one bit. The job of the president is to be a leader, a decision maker, surround himself with the right people to give him the right information. I thought you guys were scared of those college types.
And please don't imply the whole birther thing about his past, I thought we all grew out of this. I'd like to see your college grades specifically any classes involving States rights and Law. Cause Hawaii doesn't release long for certificates same as many other states.
Knight – and what college did you graduate from? Idiot. You know nothing about Bush except for what the liberal media tells you. I guess by your assessment, Obama is an idiot too. I mean, the guy said we have 52 states so he must be stupid. Theres no way he misspoke......
That's a mark against Yale. A big one. This guy is truly the poster child for incompetence.
I guess he's not saying what you want to hear, is he? How un-American of you.
For someone who calls himself mouthfoam I'd say Zakaria has better creditability.
And credibility too !
Precisely what I was thinking Rickirs.
@rz...hahahahahaah...that's too funny!
mouthfoam is an ignoramous
Fareed went to Yale. Where did you go? It's truly sad to see ignorant people call educated ones dumb. I guess all yo have to do is believe.
This clown is famous for throwing Israel under the bus too. He lies about the improving US economy (read my comment below) and then he says that Israel could potentially destroy this improving economy by protecting their country from a psychopath. This guy should just put on a skirt, get some pom poms and scream "yaaaayyy Obama" while doing a high kick.
We're the USA, Israel is Israel. Our interests do not always coincide.
If you read the article you would have said it remains to be seen what fall out there would be if Isreal attacks Iran, it is one reason greedy investors have used to spike oil prices..........he also talks about natural gas whcih could be used to reduce our dependence on oil imports.... I find it interesting we have been talking about reducing dependence since 1972 when Nixon was in office yet we still fuel our cars with oil when one can go to toher countries and we see not only do they use oil but natural gas as a fuel of cars..... the US is behind th etimes thanks to big oil and big money........
I don't get the feeling he is throwing Israel under the bus.
This CNN guy is a fraud....everybody should know it. Everything he says is censored and controlled.....pure USG propaganda....it is all lies...all of it...the U.S. economy is in a total death spiral....that is the real truth. The end is within 3 years...
Mr. Zakaria is a wise and concerned citizen of not only the United States but the planet Earth. It's great to have voices like his that are looking at the bigger picture of how we fit into the world, how we are perceived and how we can improve our country and the world we MUST live in. Recessions don't last forever ever (thank God) though there are those who would cut off America's nose to spite Obama's face. America is strong...got a problem with that?
That's a pretty dismal outlook, tony.
then what's your take on it? you got anything to dispute what he says? any FACTS of any kind?
you're just YET ANOTHER lying conservative fool who can't accept facts.
Here's a fact for you, the only reason that the unemployment rate is below 9% is that the participation rate is 63.8%. Which is what it was in January 1984. If the rate was at it's normal levels for the last 30 years (around 66%), unemployment would be well into double digits. Millions and millions of people have given up and stopped looking for work which is why the rate is at 63.8%. I'm pretty sure that's not the change they were hoping to get.
Mike Searcy, here's a FACT for you... One of the main reasons the participation rate is low is because so many people have retired. Our country is aging, and there are more retired people now than in 1984. Plus many people decided to retire rather than continue in a troubled economy. The problem with facts, is that you have to look at them in context. Not just pick one to support your biased position.
PatSJ-demographics and retirements don't account for the decline in the labor force participation rate.
Look at this chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000
The labor force participation rate was FLAT at 66% between 2003 and the start of the recession in 2008. It has been declining ever since. There was no mass retirement in mid-2008, there was a recession. What this points out is that the job market is extremely weak. The unemployment rate, even at 8.2% overstates its strength. At a normal participation rate, reported unemployment would be far worse.
@Mike Searcy
the participation rate has dropped in part baby boomers are retiring and less people are entering the job market, which is poart of the reason SS is going to run ouf money at some point, those born in 1946 can get full retirement at age 66 so many started retiring in 2011 in which if you look at the number you see a monthly decline in the participation rate . Yes some many who lost there jobs have given up looking , most are woman who are staying home wraising their family as it is chaeper than taking a low paying job which would not off set the cost of childcare. but also consider as of January 2012 there were 3.5 million job openings around the country so there are job out there for those wanting to work. a number of these jobs are low paying yes, what is interesting they are jobs that some blame illegals from stealing and they continue to go unfilled becuase most americans are unwilling to do them...what also is interesting is the partisans out there refuse to admit the economy is recovering that jobs are being created the jobsless rate has dropped, retails sales are up, profits are up, but they will try to spin it different.......
@Fiscal_Sanity
not sure if you have been watching things since late 2008 when the economic bubble burst, many companies in downsizie where offering early retirement, over layoff younger low earning employees. which is one reason you see the particpation rate dropping from jan 2008 at 66..2 dropping to 64.3 by the end of 2010. in 2011 the rate doesn't change much because as we were adding jobs you had baby boomers start taking SS full retiremnt, even if we return to full employement we will not see the 5% unemployemnet rate due to jobs lost for ever and the fact the number of baby boomers retiing is increasing each month we will not see the particapation rate return to the 66% , I have not seen numbers what the new partipaction rate would be at full what is considered full emplyoemnet....one sing showing the employement is improving is there are less underemployed and less empolyed in part time jobs , the question is will we see uneployement drop below 8% by Nov? which will take the wind out of the sails of a Romney win.. personaly I will not vote for him as he is a lying RINO
You are an idiot. He is saying good things about America. I guess you can't stand the fact that America is getting better under Obama. I am sure you went to school so take your head out of the sand and think for yourself. Don't use talking points of Republican politicians. I would like to believe you are better than that.
America did not get better 'because' of Obama, it got better IN SPITE of Obama. Obama has done his level best to restructure the US Economy to a top down cycle....in other words...his administration has encouraged large corps with high union participation, while completely deserting the small business world. Job growth is stagnant due to this fact. Large corps already have full employment, and would only need to hire minimally to staff a new project....while small businesses would have to hire a large amount of people to staff their companies. ALSO Small business owners amount to Obamas 'war on the 1%ers' considering the majority of small biz owners are in that bracket.
SO No.....the economy isnt getting better because of Obama....its getting better in Spite of him.
Just wait till Mittens is prez.....then youll see a real recovery.
@Jay W
sorry but I disagree with you in saying Obama has forgotten about small buisness, he just singed into law a bill( better called small buissness act than Jobs act) which makes it easier for them to get get financing, he has called on Congress to reduce their taxes, he has called on th ebanking industry to make loans for them for over 2 years now. The fact Cngress can agree on debt reductionss even after a bui partisan commitee come up with some great proposals House Republicans walked away from the proposals forcing automatic cuts across the board , the economy has grown so slower not because of Obama but a Congress locvked into gridlock who refuse to work with each other instead bent of destorying each other leaving us as pawns in their vicious games.........
your ignorance is your downfall. open your ears, then mind.
And then, after all that – open your mouth!!
In 2010, Zakaria wrote that US is showign the signs of recovery. In 2011, Zakaria wrote that US wont' recover because of a burden of debt. Now it's 2012. On every topic from the "Arab spring" to Assad staying in power, every topic he touches, Zakaria's opinions do not last more than 6 months.
The only constant is "change."
Bingo! You are absolutely right and that s what marks him as an idiot. A track record of proven, consistent failure indicates it, whether it offends the true believers out there or not. And that is dealing with irrefutable facts.
Hey, foam. I have several Indian friends and they told me what their K-12 education consisted of.
By 7th grade, they are learning calculus. By first grade, they are learning English.
They are so far ahead of us in terms of education it's sickening.
if we in this country actually valued education like those in India, China and Asia, 2 million more people would have jobs. There is a dearth of good talent for a lot of jobs in this country, but conservative agendas wanting to consolidate power for its own sake has robbed a generation of basic skills, like math, to survive. Our chickens are now coming home to roost.
How much does India spend on education? I'm guessing tons more than we do, right?
http://www.gits4u.com/edu/edu6.htm
Hmm, an expensive private school in India costs 35,000 Rupees, or $700 US.... so clearly we need to spend at least that much. Agreed.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17079
And on average we're spending $8,310 per student per year now; and we need to increase this ti match India's $700 per student per year.
Clearly we need a lot more money; because only by spending a lot more money can we get the results of someone spending one tenth of what we're spending now?
I'm guessing you weren't taught logic in school either. I feel sorry for you; but I do see why Conservatives don't think spending more moeny will fix the problem. When we're already spending TEN TIMES AS MUCH as your example of someone doing it right,... how will more moeny help?
Maybe look at why India's schools work... I'm guessing they don't have a teacher's union that works to keep incompetent teachers in jobs; and maybe they don't work to the lowest common denominator and try to make everyone "feel validated".
But your idea of spending even more when spending ten times what they're spending is a good one too... I wouldn't want to make you feel bad about your answer. I'll give you a passing grade anyway just because you tried to give an answer...
Hey ertdfg,
wilnel1984 did not mention about spending more money. He mentioned on putting emphasis on studying the right things.
And you were gullible enough to believe them? Silly boy.
The quality of education is a direct result of the quality of our society. Conservative society is just for conservatives!
yes, Steve-In-MA, there is nothing gullible about a belief in the educational process of Americans.
We need to tweak the curriculum and the teaching methods we use via a revamping of our teacher education programs.
Educated Americans do not work cheap. It is not in the best interest of the industry to have educated Americans when they can get cheap foreign labor on H1 visa.
Ron
Why should educated Americans "work for cheap?"
Hey sam, sorry but this bit confused me:
"conservative agendas wanting to consolidate power for its own sake"
Most of the "Conservative agenda" is to take this away from the Federal Government and give it back tot he states... who didn't screw it up. The Liberals "consolidated power" to the point where Obama signed a law stating the Federal Government gets to decide what is in school lunches.
So generally, whenever liberals complain about conservatives on school; regardless what words they use, they mean one thing. More power for the feds, more consolidation of power, and a lot more money.
Maybe he didn't mean this; but it's weird to complain about the conservatives trying to consolidate power over schools.
look up "dunning-kruger effect".. you'll see your picture..
Fareed Zakaria = Obama's stooge. Its a shame, otherwise I might be interested in what he had to say. BUt being ain a direct relationship with the W.H. during an election year, I could care less.
What "direct relationship," half-wit?
If you can't write intelligently, or form a coherent thought, please don't bore the rest of us with your childish nonsense.
i thought he was from Harvard...
Ignrance is a God gift for gifted people like you. You should get yr facts from those Tea Baggers ... I'm sure you will lala land fact nd figures fom Faux Rumor Network
faux rumour=muslim propaganda
I like Fareed, but he often fails to express any ability to relate to people who are not as well off as he is. This article is a great example. He states that the one are in which the economy continues to lag is housing. Ah, Fareed, what about employment? 120,000 jobs is not even enough to keep up with population growth. We have not created anywhere near the number of jobs we lost in the Great Recession. Real people are suffering a lot...wake up Fareed.
@120,000/month * 12 months=2,400,000 2,400,000/3,000,000 = 80 % participation rate > (63% current)
3,000,000 is stated population growth
I write that as a Democrat. Moreover a Democrat who is considering exercising his right not to vote for the office of President of the United States. Obama is dissapointing me, but the Republicans have followed each other over the cliff.
He said unemployment..listen again.
As the members of the “baby boom” generation—people born between 1946 and 1964—
approach retirement, the demographic profile of the U.S. workforce will undergo a substantial
shift as a large number of older workers will be joined by relatively few new entrants to the labor
force. According to the Census Bureau, there will be 204 million Americans aged 25 or older in
2010. By 2030, this number will increase by 23% to more than 251 million. Most of this growth
will occur among people aged 65 and older. The Census Bureau estimates that while the number
of people between the ages of 25 and 64 will increase by 15.5 million (9.4%) between 2010 and
2030, the number of people aged 65 and older is projected to grow by 31.7 million, or 79.2%.
this is what is happening in the labor market as we speak, yes 120,000 new jobs in one month is not great , but there are less entering the market then leaving the market due to retirement. Fact is since the recession peaked there have been about 4 million new jobs, in Jan of 2012 there were 3.5 millionjob openings around the country, so there are jobs out there, question is are they jobs Americans willing to do, or are they the jobs some say illegals have been stealing while others say they are jobs most Americans will not do.......if you take the 120,000 that means atleast 1,440,000 jobs a year. from 2010 to 2030 the number of americans age 25 to 34 is estimated to increas by just over 5 million while the number of age 65 and up to increase by over 31 million, so while job growth migh be low the number leaving the job market exceeds those entering the market. This is a major reason SS is in trouble............
So Chris...Whats the plan?
mark99er
Chris = anarchist
Your ad hominem attack adds nothing to the discussion. What is your point? Make it or go away.
Not to worry, Repubs know that a recovering economy just makes Obama's policies look good, in spite of the Repubs obstructions, which makes them look stupid.
oh sure the obama recovery is upon us and is heating up! if you believ that, then you are a stupid fool. as one person put it on this comment board: the economy is improving in SPITE of obama, not because of him and his policies. he is the most anti-business president we've seen since carter. one thing is for certain, if we had a real president in the oval office, the recovery would be much more robust at this point. obama needs to let go of his regulation strangle hold on the business community...he is just the worst thing i have seen in my lifetime....i was young when carter was in office but i recall my parents and relatives complaining in much the same way i am today. these far left liberals just suck and are totally anti-american. any person that says he wants to "fundamentally change" america, hates america!
Even when I disagree with him, Zakaria shows a broad, worldly perspective that is sorely lacking from people like mouthfoam. And, to disparage an Indian education further shows mouthfoam's ignorance. The British-based Indian education system produces some extremely well educated people. If you want to find an education system deserving of ridicule look at our own! It's an embarrassment for a country as wealthy as ours.
Where did you do your high school, Mouthfoam? Is it too hard to grasp or a little overheat in the head?
Yeah, great recovery Fareed. Maybe in India, but not I th US. This recovery sucks. Only a far left liberal looking for any argument to support the nanny state would even begin to think we're on the right path. Obama, Reid and Pelosi are morons. So is Zakaria. Go back to your pathetic 3rd world country where a putrid economy is celebrated.
John have you been atching to much fox these days? we have job groth, retail sales are up , profits are up. number of those under employeed are decreasing number working part time instead of full time is decreasing, in Jan 2012 there were 3.5 million job openings around the country. If you listen to the Republican Govrnor of Va his State has rebounded and doing well... if your State isn't maybe you should start looking at your local and State officals failures instead.......................
I need some of your drugs, John!
thank you john...perfectly stated. couldnt agree more with all your points.
He is a muslim from Hindu state of India. I am glad he is not promoting islamic agendas on our public TVs.
There is no connection.
What kind of ca ca are you trying to promote?
Instead of throwing mindless insults, why don't you contribute some intelligent comments. If you disagree, make some points.
you negative commenter's are most likely racist AH's, cant stand anything positive can you, you just want to obstruct and tear down everything, in short, you are probably AH republicans and you shut your AH pie hole!
No, they are nothing like any Republican in the US.
What they are advocating is anarchy to enable and promote islamic jihardist ca ca.
I'll gladly take 10 Muslim Fareed's in my neighborhood over 1 zealot Christian like Rick Santorum. Fareed's economic analyses are most often spot on and a lot better than the wacko objectivist Republicans like Paul Ryan.
you are so disgustingly sick!
Fareed likes to make comments to support Obama. Nothing about the drop in half job creation from Thursday?? CNN almost forgot to commemt on that. If the report was better, Fareed will not miss it. National debt? Deficit? We better change course soon. The numbers dont lie.
have you taken the time to wacth his show, while I only have seen a few of them he is unbais in his reporting and has gone after Obama for not doing enough...I am starting to think many posters here are hired guns paid to sit on their computers all day posting BS
If you did not see your entire 401(k) wiped out in 2008 under Bush, you don't know what you are talking about. Fareed went to Yale, a place you may not even dream of seeing!
Yes, great job. Don't have a cohesive counter argument, just smear the author. This reminds me of how we used to settle disputes on the playground or in the sandbox.
Mouthfoam, stop watching FOX News and read alittle more and you would probably agree that Fareed has light years more knowledge and intellect that Raferty or Hanity or Bill Oh my God what a boss hog.
Actually, watch FOX, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, etc. to be informed... so as not to be "brainwashed" by any one source.
What are your credentials? Go do something useful, like find a job.
Why the insult? If you don't agree, then simply state your counterpoint, along with some evidence to back it up, and move on. The fact that you must resort to low-brow commentary to express your disagreement with the columnist shows your true lack of education and knowledge on the subject. So, why don't YOU shut up? Why should anyone listen to you?
Ignorant people abhor knowledge. Thinking makes them go nuts!
It is not necessary to have formal education in a particular area in order to develop an intelligent opinion. If memory serves, Fareed was trained in political science (same as me), and political science has a lot of interdisciplinary linkages with history, philosophy, math (statistics), and economics. Nothing he is saying in this video is particularly complex, but is rather a synthesis of today's economic and related political trends.
So Fareed how much does Obama and the DNC pay you to write this stuff. Why would hope that the economy would recover in 2012. Oh yeah so it would help Obama win re-election. Nice to know how unbiased the liberal media is. Look at yesterday's job report 120K new jobs yes, but 164K people stopped looking stopped being part of the labor force they just gave up. Hows that for Hope and Change working out for you. You are right about one thing this "recovery" is not as vigorous as it should both FDR and Reagan had far more vigorous recoveries than the one Obama is presiding over now.
Anybody who still doesn't get that the motivation behind Republicans is power and nothing else need only read this Mike's posting, here. He asks, "Why would hope that the economy would recover in 2012?" The reason why Mike does not want the economy to recover in 2012 is the same reason Republicans obstructed Obama from 2009 to 2012: They don't want to see Obama succeed. They said as much. they don't care that people can't find work or anything else. They care only about being in power. Why? So they can tank our economy again with their failed policies while they get richer and richer. The jig is up, MIke. Give it a rest.
"The jig is up"? No pun intended I assume.
FDR, as a part of his strong recovery, to use your characterization of it, imposed rigid regulations on the finance system. Reagan removed those. First, a bubble was created and a few short years later we started to see recessions, a thing we hadn't seen since FDR implemented his policies. The culmination of Reagan's policies and ideas came in 2008 with the Great Recession. What Fareed is pointing out is that now, for the first time since FDR, we are seeing broad-based strengthening of the economy. I know you don't like to hear that, but it sure is fun cramming plain facts down your fact-hating, ignorant throat.
You may want to review your history again. FDR did impose additional regulations on Finance. Created the SEC and the Glass Stegall act which separated investment banks from commercial banks this was done so that bad investments on the investment banking side wouldn't cause banks to fail. This regulation was limited not by Reagan but by Bill Clinton. But its largely irrelevant since it was no large commercial banks failed but several Investment banks ( Lehman etc did ). Of course many regional and smaller banks failed but loosening up Glass-Stegall was not a cause of that.
I question why Fareed would want the economy to improve in 2012. Why not 2011 or 2010. Is it because 2012 was an election year and an improving economy would help Barack Obama. Fair enough but come out and say it. "I really want Barack Obama to win re-election. I'm a Liberal Democrat and will write and say anything to make sure that happens . That my column and blogs and reporting is tilted in such a manner to help Barack Obama and the Democratic party" . Just come out and admit it. All I ask is that "Journalists" like Fareed admit their bias and let everyone else know about it.
Now now, don't get to riled up, you are also dismissing some facts, the recoveries under FDR and Regan had the luxury of "Traditionally, housing leads every recovery." but remember "This time it hasn’t because the bursting of the housing bubble and the problems associated with mortgages and housing debt have left it struggling. But at some point that will end."
Now, if you want to infer that one's policies have or have not contributed to the state of the economy. Please follow this link for information from the CBO:
http://imgur.com/QNI2F
I Wish people would look and analyze facts BEFORE they decide what they think. It is to easy and tempting to only look at what supports their "conclusion". Do you Mike?
your right the housing market is lagging this time, maybe because during the Bush 8 years it was what drove the economy until it's buble burst thus would make sense it would be lagging , thus making recovery slower and harder, the resdientail housing market while so ever slightly improving will continue to lag, while the commerical market is growing and creating jobs once again, recent labor survey has shown there are many openings in this area, laborers being the biggest, yet many companies are finding it hard to fill them due to a lack of experience and skills in those applying.....
This economy is going to be slow for some time but many things have changed:
- people are now thinking about saving instead of spending on credit
- manufacturing is coming back to the US
- people are thinking about getting into fields that make things (engineering, science, machining etc.)
- the government is talking about the deficit
- health care reform is an important issue
Obama may have his faults but I would rather him than Romney. This is a world economy with China and India and the trickle down theory just doesn't seem robust enough on which to base the US economy.
Nagita, are these facts or just wishful thinking? Sure the government is "talking" about the deficit, that's what Obama does best ....talking. Or should I say "reading"...as in treading the teleprompter.
@Lee McBride
LOL wishingful thinking as your lacking any fatcs which are Bush 7.0 trillion in defict spending Obama 1.4 trillion sorry but those are right from the CBO funny how before Bush started 2 war costing trillions we were facing a 6 trillion surplus another CBO fact....................
Youwant unbiased media stop listening to FOX, an advowed Murdoch political voice.
Unbiased?
Were you even conscious during Reagan? That was not a totally rapid recovery. It took some time with many painful effects. Just another "expert" talking out of their butt. Go back to school
You sound like you've been "LImbaughtomized" . . .
better question is are you a hired gun paid to sit on your computer all day posting on these boards? cause I have to ask why did the 164K you say stopped looking for work stop? more so when as of Jan 2012 there were 3.5 million job openings around the country, so there are jobs out there for people willing to work.
@peter we didnt see any recessions since FDR and until RR? are you retarded of something? what about the stagflation of the 1970's for instance? care to comment on that? also there were other recessions between FDR and RR. to make that statement that there were none until RR is totally irresponsible and flat out WRONG!! you terrible lying liberals make me wanna be sick reading all your lies...
OK. So, your article is basically trying to tell us that the economy will get better. Uhuh. And things seem to be pointing upwards. Uhuh. They actually pay you to write such idiotic nonsense? A 5 year old can tell you the American economy is the most broad-based, and diverse in the world! Pssst. We all know that. And by the way, Obama had nothing to do with that. Actually, he is still trying to figure out how it works. Which is good! If he knew how it works he would have destroyed it by now. But, give him enough time, and he'll get there!
Yeah, right. Obama is responsible for all the ills and cannot take credit for anything positive after over 3 years in office. Get a life.
Not responsible for all the ills. Bush had a lot to do with that. But, certainly unable to find the throttle for this economy. Am I better off than I was 4 years ago? No. So my vote goes to someone else. And yes, I need to get a life, like playing golf on a Saturday instead of communicating with idiots like you, but in this economy who can afford it?
Maybe the reason your life isn't better off RubyG, is because you're not working hard enough, or you're not smart enough to succeed. Maybe it isn't Obama's fault. Maybe it's yours.
IT's sad listening to GOP supporters. They're caught between a rock and a hard place. They want to get back in power and in order to accomplish that, they need Obama to fail. But the only way to prove that Obama failed is to destroy the country. And that's what we have now... a group of people so determined to regain power that they wish the economy to fail to help them. They minimize every gain and blow every negative out of proportion. It's truly sad and about as un-american as one can get.
Not the point. Obama is neither responsible for the economic downturn, not its recovery. Yet he blames the first on a previous administration while taking credit for the latter.
Obama is no more responsible for any 'recovery' we've seen than a rooster is responsible for the dawn. Both crow loudly as the sun starts to rise, but the rooster is smart enough to know that he can't take the credit.
Blaming Bush for the downturn shows the same financial ignorance as giving Obama credit for any gains so far. It shows a fundamental lack of understanding as to how the economy and markets (including housing, equity, debt and currency) operate. The building blocks of the downturn were in place long before Bush, and the downturn so far reaching and long that short of an entire economic collapse, we would be seeing some signs of recovery is some sectors by now.
The White House knows this, but counts on a financially ignorant public to jump on the 'blame Bush' bandwagon and the 'See, Obama saved us all!' bandwagon. That's what wins elections with a public unable to grasp the complexity of today's economic markets. The public doesn't know and they don't want to know. They want to be presented with a young well-spoken man in a nice suit who tells them that he saved them. The last and upcoming election was/will be based on that.
Touting a recovery in jobs and in certain markets disguises major problems. Zakaria puts a neat, clean and hopeful little picture together above. "I mean, it just HAS to get better, doesn't it?" He does not mention the crushing debt that we've taken on in recent years, or an eroding education system, or our downgraded national credit rating, or the rise of food stamps being issued, or other longer-term indicators that do not paint a pretty picture.
His logic is as deep as "kids don't want to live with their parents, so that will fuel a demand for housing" as the logic behind hope for a recovery. Moron.
mdamone, you hit the nail right on the head.
RudyG, Have you completely ignored the just say no GOP or is it that you hope no one else has noticed it.If the GOP had in any way tried to work with the current Administration we would be so much better off now. But that would mean that a Black man can actually manage something as well as a White man and god knows that's something that some people will never be able to accept. D@mb F3ck
So you will fault him for everything that goes wrong in your life, but not give him any credit when things go well? Delusional much?
@ peter. you are a misguided lying anus...typical blind liberal idiot.
Well, they've been SAYING the economy is improving ever since Obama was elected. They're hoping we'll all believe them this time and rush out to buy more stuff on credit.
Fareed, here's a bit of bad news: the other day I hear an ad for a course teaching how to flip houses to make a profit. Apparently, some people never learn.
Flipping houses is a sure sign the economy is recovering
while some are flipping house buyin gup forclosures and shortsales where there is a market, in the weaker markets we are seeing outside money coming in buying up them up and then renting them out. which mihgt be why Bank Of America is floating a trial , will more banks follow suit?
You know it but the easily swayed American public at large only listens to one liners from the RNC about how it is WORSENING.
It just makes you sick to hear that Obama is good for this country, doesn't it? Is that why he "needs to shut up?" Pffff...
no peter it makes me sick listening to you spout off lies about the obama admin an how great it is. it just shows that you are a stupid person. anyone with half a brain knows that things are getting better in spite of obama not because of him.
Junk Article. Out of sorts
What do you mean "out of sorts?"
Watch all the Republicans lose it in this comments section when confronted with the facts behind the picture Fareed paints. They can't stand facts.
Our current Federal Debt, about 15.6 trillion dollars and greater than our GDP, apparently has no impact on our economic situation. Since the Fed's can borrow money to pay interest on their debt means that we can also. Let's go on a spending spree, run up our cards to the max and when we can't borrow anymore just pretend that nothing bad happened.
Interesting. When we bought our house, our debt exceeded our annual income (GHP – Gross Household Product) but we didn't panic and scream "Apocalypse." And the car dealership was still willing to let us buy a car on time. Mark V, I suggest you look at the numbers in a little more depth before you take a couple of isolated numbers and draw absurd conclusions. I know this is what the RNC and Robert Murdoch want you to do but, please, become a thinking voter. Just a side note, I know of "lefties" who are just as doctrinaire as you are and I find them equally disturbing.
Top economists explain that you cannot compare the National Debt or spending to a family's debt or spending. Two different animals, and not just because one is bigger than the other.
The economy will turn around when people start spending, which creates demand, which creates jobs, which creates taxes, which pay off the debt. When the country closes down and quits spending, we're headed for depression . . .
the public debt is at 9 trillion dollars this is money we owe and held by the publicwhile our GDP stands around14.59 trillion, still doesn;t change the fact we need to stop over spending by 1.3 trillion a year , we need honest tax reform both personal and corprate, we need to address so called entilements, and we need to stop the government over paying for items that continues.............
Let's see:
December and January drop in unemployment due mostly to people leaving the workforce rather than due to job creation. February saw some real job creation, but some returned to looking for work, so unemployment remained the same. In March, job creation was below the level needed just to keep up with population growth, but the unemployment level dropped (by a tenth of a percent) because more people simply gave up looking. In other words, despite the fact that unemployment has improved over the last four months, the employment picture has actually gotten much worse.
Sure, young adults would like to move out of their parents' homes, and if this happens in large numbers the housing market will improve. But until significant job creation happens, they won't have a choice but to stay with mom and dad. In addition, despite poor home sales and dropping prices, rents are increasing. This will force more young adults back home with mom and dad.
Some polls have consumer confidence beginning to decline once again. Gas is about to hit $4 a gallon, will likely near $5 this summer. Food costs are going up, and will increase further with fuel costs. As consumers get pinched by the increasing costs of these basic necessities, retail sales will drop. Employment will drop in response.
To paraphrase Jim Mora: Recovery? Recovery? We're barely treading water here and you're talking recovery? Are you kidding me? Recovery?
Evryone forget that Bohner wants the economy to fail on Obama's watch so the RNC can save the day? The heck with the Americans who would suffer, the only important goal is re-election and capturing the Presidency.
WHat the RNC is doing is shameful, but at least they were transparent enough so that we can all see through their plans.
Dont know where you live. But I actually drive a car, Gas did go up but you have failed to notice its been dropping for 2 weeks now
There are people who think the glass is half full. There are people who think the glass is half empty. Then, there are people who want it to be empty. You belong to that group. If you saw light at the end of the tunnel, you'd want it to be the train.
you seem unwilling to acept the fact that many more americans are retiring than entering the jobs market, a Congressional study has show from 2010 to 2030 about a 5 million increase in people age 25 to 34 while at the same time people age 65 and older will increase by 31 million, thus you have more leaving the market than entering, this trend started in 2011 the first year for baby boomers to reach SS full pension age. so while we might be adding 3 million in births a year you don't account for those leaving due to retirement and the main reason SS is in trouble.....
I guess Peter is the one who likes to drown out free speech if anyone disagrees with his view. Seems a bit desperate.
Always interesting to see the "half-empty" half-full" crowd divide along political lines...
This guy is like Obama's cheerleader. He doesn't call out Obama by name in his writing, but you can tell, he will do anything to help Obama win the election. He will NEVER write about the people struggling in America. He will NEVER write, for example, that when Obama took office only 142m people were employed in the US and today only 142m people are employed (while the population actually increase by 4%) signaling NO job growth. He will NEVER write that the poverty rate in the US is at a record level and continues to exponentially increase. Why not? Because that could hurt Obama's approval rating.
So you are disappointed in Zakaria because he isn't a right wing nut hate journalis? Me thinks dittohead. Zakaria presents a well rounded accurate assessment in most things. Not so much when it comes to Israel, not sure why. But other than that he is well worth listening too. For a quick assessment for what is going on, he is a good point of reference. Rush, not so much.
Way too funny dude. I find it disgusting at the mockery bo has made of the presidency of America. Thank God the libbys I know are not voting for bo this time. They've had enough of his LIES!! yeehaw
I would take his slant in regards to Isreal due what seems an unwillingnes of Isreal to deal honestly with the Palestinians .. but that is just my sense
JOE is an inbred Texan with a lazy eye and 11 fingers.
Fareed Jakaria is correct is correct that economy is recovering after burst of housing bubble. As the employments become regular & right wages, housing industry shall pick up as people will restart buying after loss of their houses in default of payment in earlier mortgages. Whale gas recovery can bring down gas prices if public transportation switches on CNG. When demand shrinks, supply too shrink due to losses of jobs & more on unemployment wages with less mileage on gas & for the jobs. Reduction on demand brings down only variable costs but not fixed costs. This factor keeps the gas prices higher plus in keeping with OPEC rates of crude oil & gas.
"The new employment numbers are encouraging. " Really? Did Obama help you write this? Last month, the number of people gave up and left the work force was larger than the number of new jobs created. Which by the way isn't even enough to keep up with the population growth (about 150K new jobs need to be added each month just to keep up with that). That's why the unemployment # dropped. The participation rate at 63.8% (which was relatively stable until 2009) continues to drop like a brick in water and is currently at it's lowest level in almost 30 years. I know of 600 people here locally that would like to have a word with you about this, they just got laid off by JCP on Friday.
Well those 600 people can always go to feild work out on the farm feilds
Oh yeah that work is beneath your kind
Sorry, Mike, but you are wrong. The news channel favored by right-wing radicals, Fox News, tells us to use the U6 unemployment figure because it is the "real" unemployment rate. The U6 number included those who are unemployed and acively looking for work, and those who are not working and are not actively looking for work. That rate went down from 14.5 in Feb to 14.3 in March.
And frankly, the only reason Fox says U6 is the"real" rate is because it is a higher number. If a person is not working and is not actively seeking a job it is because they have enough money to live on! No one sits in their house, apartment, car, and says, "Uh, I don't have a job, so I think I will just sit here until I starve to death." If you need a job to survive, you are actively searching for work. If you are just hanging loose until the job market improves you have money in the bank to live on, and it is a choice you make.
When he's not sucking a golf ball through a garden hose, Zacharia dresses up in a skimpy little cheerleader outfit and does the splits on an anatomically correct, life-size Obama doll.
Mike's take : Fareed needs to get his head out of Obama's a** long enough to see the reality of what's really going on in this country.
Are you calling yourself in the third person?
hehehehehehehehehe...
Get your own head out of your own hiney.
Interest rates are still at historic long term lows, and it appears they will remain as such for the foreseeable near future. Normally, this would create a HUGE demand for housing. But it's NOT ! Nor is it spurring a tsunami of capital spending.
So what's wrong with this picture? Why aren't people buying houses like mad, and why aren't factories expanding and flourishing?
Go on over to CNN money or maybe the Wall street Journal
Your choice
Manufacturing is up and expanding at a rapid pace
Ron P., I admire your optimism and will of course agree that manufacturing in a classical sense still exists in America. But if there was only one person working and then someone else got hired, employment would double according to statistics. Detroit just narrowly avoided bankruptcy this past week. The definition of manufacturing along with the criteria and methods for determining statistical data for so many other reports is misleading. Though when you can take pride in the fact that enough products are either "Made in the USA" and/or on the rise compared to imports, let the rest of us know where so we can take pride too.
Fareed writes this article every month or two. It's already on the record that he's an adviser to the president. He needs to choose which payroll he's going to be on. At least Jay Carney (despite his incompetence) has chosen an employer. Maybe CNN keeps him on staff because they want the perspective of true "insider." I mean, why have some Clinton-era retread talking about what MIGHT be going on, when you can have a guy that was actually in the meeting yesterday?
These guys are screwing Obama and they don't even know it. Please, please, please – keep talking about the "recovery."
I'm glad to see someone out there knows who Zakaria really is.
Excellent post , David.
Don't forget to vote in November.
Barack Hussein Obama could declare himself a socialist and Fareed Zakaria would think it's a great idea.
Liberalism is a mental disorder.
Anyone who feels the need to type out "Barack Hussein Obama" obviously is an idiot.
That's his name. Who cares?
Who cares? I do. Why? Because it is a gimmick used by Obama haters to plant a seed into weaker minds. It's a subliminal jab saying he has ties to a Muslim background. They are not doing it out of respect.
The man has been going to a Christian church all his life, but there are idiots out there who still believe he is a closet Muslim. Why? Because there are people out there reminding them his middle name is "Hussein".
Hey, if you can't actually make a cohesive counter argument, what are you doing here? Nobody is going to come over to your side with this type of childish, embarrassing nonsense. What a pathetic joke! Lemme guess, you live in Texas and your sister has a lazy eye and 11 fingers...
Guess you cannot make a statement without resorting to insults.
Hey Zakaria, go back to your friends like David Rockefeller at the Council on Foreign Relations and tell them that we don't want their New World Order dictatorship. And their fake "recovery" isn't fooling anyone. We know America must be brought down for them to accomplish their goals. Real Americans stand up and protest the private Federal Reserve and the small group of banking families behind the scheme, like the Rothschilds, Warburgs and Rockefellers.
A Paulbot.
Let me guess it is a conspiracy of Joooows that run the world banking system
Says a moron who calls itself a "Polesucker?"
Good stuff, Chuck. Agreed. And I don't call it conspiracy because conspiracies are supposed to be hidden, while their actions (especially the Fed) are crystal clear. Unfortunately, your and my opinion make little or no difference. I'm waiting for a good president, someone who's like Ron Paul and capable of winning to stop all this chaos and get the legal fed fraud under control.
Are you using Teflon in your tin-foil hat?
BECAUSE ITS WORKING. THE ALIENS CAN DETECT YOU... HIDE IN YOUR BUNKER!
I kindof like Zakaria. I'm quite suprised he has been brainwashed this easily.
What is actually happening to the economy?
1) # of jobs in America actually is the same as when Obama took office (142 million) while the population grew by 4%.
2) Individuals living in poverty are at a record high of 50 million people and has grown exponentially since Obama took office
3) Rates are at a record low and housing continues to be in the dump NOT because of the housing bubble, but because foreclosures/short sales have continued, banks are getting out of mortgages, and regulation.
4) Gas prices continue to slump NOT because of Iran (Saudis have been pumping more gas to compensate), but because of speculative behavior. If a country is threatening another country, they have EVERY right to defend itself.
5) Fareed is a disgusting human being who lied to the American people about the supposedly improving economy and he should be ashamed of himself for misleading the public by the power given to him through CNN.
The American economy is recovering slowly because of many factors, not least, the damage done by the poorly regulated banking sector and americans living beyond their means and taking on too much household debt. The recovery is also slow because there are economic problems in the euro-zone and the slow-down in China, India and Brazil. Add to this, the geo-political situation and the vast amount of resources needed to fight terrorism,d there is very little chance that things will improve quickly. It is a new world out there and we all better plan for living with less.
We have been hoping for going on 4 years now. How much longer?
Four more. I like the direction we're going and I think it hasn't been moving faster largely because conservatives have been too focused on trying to make the President of the United States fail. My personal economic situation is a lot better than it was when Obama took office and I am willing to give him my vote so that we keep moving in that direction. I feel sure that if I voted for any of the Republican candidates, the entire focus of government would be on undoing anything and everything that is working. Why would I want that?
Amen!
Agree.
This guy is not quite as idiotic as the masses on a good day. This is not a good day for him. 1) Global warming is real. 2) The oil companies control energy policy in this "democracy". 3) Our trade balance is killing us. 4) Oil funds our "enemies". 5) The banks have bought the illusion that they create value. 6) The Democratic Party is a suck-up failure to the failed policies of the Republican Party.
Game over. Let's hope the post-mammalian masters of this planet are better at abstract thinking.
so the one guy who spends more time with Obama than Michelle writes a flattering piece for Obama. Wake me when the bias is gone.
NeoCons, Repubs & Tea Party >> You need to accept the fact that Fareed is completely supportive of the Democrats and enamored with Obama to the point of using his CNN position as PR mechanism for the party. GET OVER IT! Find another place to rant, as CNN is the forum for supporting the Democrats agenda and Obama for 2012. FOX is where you should consort and seek solace with people who share your values. Bye bye!!
I agree. Regardless of what Gloria Borger says, CNN is the water toting cable outlet for the Dems.
Fareed always supports Obama, even when he's being super-mildly critical. He's a surrogate posing as an intellectual. I have nothing against Fareed other that that.
Here's what Fareed knows about the economy: he wants King Obama reelected so that he can continue to make laws, interpret laws, and execute laws that put more power in the hands of Ivy League elites like themselves, and less in the hands of those who do the work and earn the money.
Absolute nonsense. You clearly can't create a cohesive counter argument, so you rant on about "Ivy League Elites"? What an embarrassing joke. Just go watch your Hee Haw reruns and don't forget to bring a few extra cans of Spam to the Trailer Park Social Gathering tonight!
This guy is the most intelligent writer CNN uses – people on here who criticize his credentials probably couldn't carry on a intelligent conversation with him. Sure he summarizes broadly & may be a bit too optimistic but better than a naysayer. The shale gas facts speak volumes of a guy who accoding to many here is an Obama puppet, and in clear fashion shows to be the oppsite – someone willing to declare that our domestic gas supply is a huge factor in our future & implies its safe extraction with fracking technology. An environmentalist obstructionist liberal-type would say the opposite. We need more positive waves of intelligence from people like Zakaria.
And when the environmentalists at the EPA shut down fracking for fears about ground water, killing the one bright point?
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2012/03/23/epa-fracking-rules-would-reduce.html?page=all
Don't worry about that one bright point spoiling Obama's perfect failure; they're already working to kill it before it has any positive benefit.
I think that the President and the Congress need to give more attention to Natural Gas. There is a law that prevents automobile makers from making cars easy to convert from gasoline to natural gas. That law needs to be changed.
We need to take that 2 billion subsidy we've been giving to the Big Five oil companies – the largest profit industry on the planet – and use it instead to improve access to natural gas fueling stations. Utah is a good model for that. You can drive from one end of Utah to the other (8 hour drive) on I-15 with easy access to natural gas fueling stations. Thanks to former governor Jon Huntsman Jr.
We have a lot of natural gas in this country and even though it is a carbon based fuel, it could help us to reduce reliance on foreign oil while we develop multiple other energy sources. There's no good reason that more of us couldn't be driving natural gas vehicles. Tell Congress to get off it's fat butt.
Can you show me the law? Seriously. I think natural gas could be a good short-term solution to gasoline prices. If the law exists I'll write my representatives and ask them to remove it. I have a feeling that it is just an urban legend.
energy prices are plummeting? he did say plummeting right? and I guess he wrote this before march job numbers were released. I get a kick out of Libs wanting take credit for the numbers with job growth and compare the numbers to bush. when unemployment is 4 1/2 percent like it was under bush that's near total employment, so in other words you cant have big job growth when there is no one is needing or looking for work. It's easy to have big job numbers when unemployment is at 10% and millions are looking for jobs.
The March jobs numbers are not bad, just not as good as we had hoped. We had three consecutive months of 200,000+ job adds. We were hoping to hit 200,000 again, but we didn't. However, we did still have a 120,000 increase, and that makes the 18th month in a row with positive job gains.
Also, the job situation was not all rosy under Bush. The unemployment rate lagged behind the job losses. Check out this page:
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0000000001?output_view=net_1mth
It shows the monthly job gain/loss from 2002 to present.
In Bush's last year in office job losses increased until we were losing 600-800,000 jobs a month at the end of 2008! In May of 2009 those job losses started slowing. What happened then? That was Obama's stimulus. Eventually the losses turned intl gains beginning March of 2010. Since then 20 of the next 24 months we have had job gains.
So, even though the monthly jobs losses were were MUCH lower, the overall unemployment rate in the end of 2009 was higher than the end of 2008. If you concentrate only on the unemployment figure you miss the big picture. The big picture shows Obama slowed the job losses and turned it into jobs gains.
Sikh, and ye shall find...
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS12300000
Right, just look at this chart. As the recession happens you see employment drop off.
Then we have an amazing wonderful recovery in which none of the jobs come back. We just bounce at the bottom of the cliff for two years and now we call that a recovery.
We are a stunning 0.3% over our 25+ year low, and our March number was EXACTLY last years' March number. So we're right at where we were at last year. Stunningly amazing recovery to get us right back to our low point after the recession.
But the only "lagging" indicator is housing... so having employment at a 25+ year low and stay there isn't an indicator of anything? Yeah... pull the other one.
Oh, and the EPA is looking into new rules to ban fracking... so your bright point? It's going to be killed in the crib. But you pretend this is really really god and we're recovering if you want. I'm sure everyone will love the "new normal" sitting at the bottom of a recession for years while you claim it's a recovery.
there are like 87M people who are not counted as unemployed, because they are "no longer in the workforce", our debt is more like 80TRILLION+ [GAAP accounting, not cash accounting] dollars payable in fiat money, which each and every one of us will be forced to pay back through the hidden inflation tax....and it keeps getting worse. we are run by an oligarchy who has decided that an illegitimate puppet will be our president. republicans and democrats are so corrupt. congress and the senate are so corrupt, the supreme court is so corrupt. our propaganda 'news media' has become the fourth branch of government. you are a helpless 'peon' who will be controlled by taxes, banks, and the socialistic 'new world order' government. you won't be able to cut trees in your own back yard and you will die when the beaurocrats tell you when to die. your children have been inculcated into this socialist mindset and some will be sacrificed in ubiquitous wars under the guise of patriotism (but for THEIR profit). your pawn politicians are voted in by the majority who don't even pay taxes (talking about the ass leading the head). so, anyway, back to the real important issues, like race, sustainability, celebrity worship, sports, internet, t.v., hot cars [volt], and 'plummeting energy cost'. see? the press can tell you the truth even though your eyes see the lies. thanks cnn!
i guess since it is election time it time for cnn & thier editorials to start saying everything is wonderful. unfortunately there is a track of of all the wrong predition this fool who calls himself a journalist has written. but its all obama nowe that things are good. plus obama can continue ti blame bush otherwise
you're forgetting a little problem, Zakaria. It's called the debt.
Don't mention the growing economy to Fox watchers. Its doesn't play into their agenda well.
Yes, better to be a sheep and believe anything the current administration tells you.
Zakaria went to Yale but on merit-rather than the way Bush did. After Yale, Zakaria earned a PhD from Harvard.
Fareed, you are totally subjective and biased toward Iran. Israel needs to do what it takes to protect itself and its interests, and it would not just have an effect on the American economy.Your viewpoint is not objective and therefore not one I respect.
I'm sorry but how exactly is this economy moving forward yet? Everyday I hear about more business' closing. What "was" to be there and isn't anymore. I see more money being spent on emergency medicaid (if you didn't know ANYONE from ANY country can come to the United States and give birth 'for free'). When I was young and had my girlfriend (wife now) come down from Canada with me she popped my son out before we could make it back. Thankfully the hospital representative informed us of 'emergency medicaid' which covers basically any one who isn't an American citizen having a child in our great nation. Sickening enough they paid for all of my room service, coffee, steaks, burritos, and milk shakes that I had planned on paying myself... why would I refuse? THEY INSISTED! This was at Winnie Palmer in Orlando, FL. She had a c section by the ways and an epidural hours before. Just think of all the tax payer money we wasted... Now I'm a hard working tax payer and moved back to the US, however, this is just 1 out of hundreds of thousands of careless spending which is destroying the country. Which reminds me, in Canada which has government run health care, I went to visit them because while I was temporarily living there I had a huge goiter and had to get it checked. After waiting 5 1/2 hours I walked into a room with a guy literately sitting at a child's school desk you would see in a classroom and as I walked over to him he said "you look fine". This was shocking because I hadn't even sat down yet... he felt my neck and said I had cyst that were no big deal. It turned out to be stage 3 hyperthyroidism a year later. If American's want the government add Trillions of dollars to our debt and to add our medical treatment on top of everything else they fail to do, enjoy. Maybe when I see one $1+ in the US Treasury I'll feel this is debatable.
What is really sad is reading all these comments based on one or more of the following: lack of intelligence, lack of education, lack of a broader understanding of how the world works, selfishness, anger and hatred. Its depressing. And to think these are my fellow Americans and theoretically they vote.
There is no job growth with the U.S. economy. The government uses a flawed and misleading algorithm to dupe the American people. There is no net job growth under Obama. Just a re-election year ploy for votes from the naive.
Okay genius, can you identifiy the "flaw?"
We can not spend 4 billion dollars more than what we take in every day and recover. This is government gone wild .
First, when you make this kind of comment, you need to identify your references.
Then, you need to name where you would cut the budget.
Otherwise, you are,obviously, pulling figures out of your hiney to create ca ca.
That's nice. Tell that the 20 plus people that will be laid off this Tuesday from my company. They have no idea it's coming.
Look out here comes the spin doctors.
I once thought highly of Mr Zakaria, and might continue to do so in matters of international import, but he's lately proven himself to be thoroughly biased in favour of the Obama administration. I can't take seriously his glowing assessment of America's economic future–it's too likely to have been written with the intent of forwarding Obama's interests.
Can you prove Fareed wrong?
nice jab at Israel at the end. was the whole article just a setup for that?
"nice jab at Israel in the end"??????????????
What are you talking about?
What is the color of the sky in your world?
Moron!
Someone mentioned that Obama will not tell us his grades while at Harvard. He was the editor of the Law Review, so they had to be quite superb.
Whatever his school grades were, he gets a strong FFFFFFFFFF as president.
Yeah right, loser. You, or any members of your inbred family tree would never be able to get into Harvard. Why don't you go celebrate Easter by knocking up your sister! You can add more residents to your trailer park without even leaving home.
and you are soooooooooo smart, you can tell!
hhehehehe...
Dumbing down our hope is the new way of journalists. The facts are clear that Fracking is horrible for our environment but Americans are short sighted and only see pay check to pay check. An ease in our energy bills will not do it for my bottom line how about yours.
Seems like fareed can't quit fantasizing about bo.
The only way for our country to recover is to remove deadbeat obama and his super corrupt administration.They have been the biggest drag on our economy with loser obamas incompetence and idiotic ,socialist policies .We need a real president to lead this country,not some fraudulent self appointed ,arrogent dictator like loser obama.
What? A "corrupt deadbeat"? What absolute nonsense. You are a coward to smear our President like that and I am fairly certain you reside in Texas, the sewer of the nation to make such an ignorant rant against our President and nation!
Bashing Texas makes you the better man????
This recovery happend to coincide with the record M2 monetory supply caused by QE2 of 2010.its caused by supply rather than demand.looks like a small bubble to me.
Hope is not something imaginary conditions. It is calculated culmination of efforts, market in local area & consistency in consumers’ availability. It is immense & greatest in the world of industrialized countries in America. Scope is unlimited in economic growth in America. It all depends on progressive democratic politicians rather than those opposing it. There has been no time when there was no challenge to progress & development in any country. These challenges are opportunities to rethink, redesign, replay & work the strategy with existing resources & resources of bright economic future. Consumers in home are the biggest resource of development which exist in America with unlimited sectors of development which is exist nowhere in any other country in the world. With whatever direction & focus of American economy follows it is going to lead at economic recovery & self-reliance which are new elements in current thought process which never existed in earlier politicians of America & present generation of people of America with limitless talents, human resources & material assets nowhere in the world. Above all it is the will of the people of America to move just forward knowing pitfalls of over consumption, debt & credit & waste of resources not less the trust, faith, confidence & determination of people of America. People of America & its industrial strength is moving in right direction & economy recovery is on the way for next generation. Knowing weaknesses are more important that development. This short coming & penalties have been realized by all Americans in civilized life, business & industry with faithful adherence to Rule of Law in America.
I can't understand why Zakaria's rather bland opinion causes commenters to get so angry. He may be correct or incorrect, but nothing about his article calls for insults. My heavens.
Islamophoebia is a disease. Fareed, I do not hink USA will recover. We may hvae cracking gas but we have a bunhc of crackos in the south and the Jesus bearing NRA and GOP members. I myself plan to retire in Canada.
@mdamone
one can simple see that prior to Bush housing increased in price over time that is why so many sought home ownership, a piece of the american pie, it was under Bush that trend come crashing down along with the economy, he sat there for 8 years allowing the housing market fuel economic growth in large part to fund his 2 wars, so yes he does take blame for the economy crashing as it was his policies that helped it crash........to know try and change the tune is dishonest, jsut as even Romney sees it as such....after all he has admitted the economy is aproving but would have done better under McCain than Obama
HALAL MEAT..HA HA
The caller ID on Eman al-Obeidi's smart phone says private number. She guesses the call is from a fellow Libyan and promptly silences the ringer.
"I think the halal meat seller gave out my number," she says, picking up another piece of sizzling beef fajita. "That's why I don't buy halal meat anymore."
MMMMMMMMMMMM HALAL MEAT, U EAT SO MANY FK CO KS IN LIBYA
WHATS THAT GOT TO DO WITH STUPID MUSLIM WHO GAVE YOUR PHONE!!! HALAL IS BETWEEN U AND GOD
Wrong forum MEAT-HEAD
Why does every article by Zakaria read like an Obama campaign speech? Don't worry, Fareed, he'll be reelected. The republicans have shot themselves in the foot again.
Ironically, the best campaigners for Obama has been the GOP! All he needs to do is just sit back and watch the entertainment as he coasts to re-election.
I've learned not to trust a single word that comes out of Mr. Zakaria's mouth. Ever.
This guy reminds me of an old TV comedian named Professor Irwin Corey "The Worlds Foremost Authority" Is there ANYTHING Zakaria does not consider himself an expert on? I can't wait for his picks on the World Series.
Bad, bad news for Republicans who need the country to fail in order to keep themselves better off.
Cue the tea party window lickers....
Zakaria ... received a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University,[1] where he was president of the Yale Political Union, editor-in-chief of the Yale Political Monthly, a member of the Scroll and Key society, and a member of the Party of the Right. He later earned a Doctor of Philosophy in political science from Harvard University in 1993,[1] where he studied under Samuel P. Huntington and Stanley Hoffmann.
After directing a research project on American foreign policy at Harvard, Zakaria became managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine in 1992. In October 2000, he was named editor of Newsweek International,[1] and wrote a weekly foreign affairs column. In August 2010 it was announced that he was moving from Newsweek to Time magazine, to serve as a contributing editor and columnist.[4]
He has written on a variety of subjects for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and as a wine columnist for the web magazine Slate.[5][6]
Zakaria is the author of From Wealth to Power: The Unusual Origins of America's World Role (Princeton, 1998), The Future of Freedom (Norton, 2003), and The Post-American World (2008); he has also co-edited The American Encounter: The United States and the Making of the Modern World (Basic Books).
In 2007, Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines named him one of the 100 leading public intellectuals in the world.[7]
Zakaria was a news analyst with ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos (2002–2007); he hosted the weekly TV news show, Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria on PBS (2005–2008); his weekly show, Fareed Zakaria GPS (Global Public Square) premiered on CNN in June 2008.[1] As of November 2011, It airs on Sundays at 10:00am and 1:00pm Eastern Daylight Time.[8]
Which of you Conservative gasbags out there who are pretending to believe that Zakaria is stupid and unqualified can honestly tell us that we should believe YOU, not Zakaria?
RE: "Yale? Well so did George Bush remember, but was still an idiot..."
Your Bush smear is inaccurate. He still is an idiot and his haughty "those-Katrina-victims-are-better-off" mother, BeelzeBarb is still evil.
who says we want fracking?
Fareed, The old school economics is following housing industry as key indicator to growth and confidence. Housing industry will never pickup as it did in the past. You may see very small bursts, Lessons had been learned and Americans are not going to over commit again.
You are correct on recovery. Consumer confidence is high. However, if we maneuver gas prices, we may be accelerating the recovery.
Nice job keeping up, despite stereotypes. I see more commenting on you than on your note.
Anyone who thinks the U.S. is doing well should spend a day in Shanghai or Chongqing. Maybe then you'll at least remember what growth looks like.
Estimated 7 million non-agricultural jobs are held by illegal aliens . (with stolen, or fake ID)
Jobs that could and should go to Americans. Push your state rep to make a change .
Google this: NUMBERSUSA .Once you are registered, go to the "action board" to
send free faxes to your state representative .
They are all typed up and ready to go, you just need to click your mouse to send.
No more illegal aliens in payroll jobs !
I would not call it a "recovery". The U.S. economy is no where close to being healthy, and the only reason we are seeing some improvement is due to all of the sticks Obama has in place propping everything up. If he takes all of his friends off life support, the DOW will go back to healthy 6000-7000 where it belongs.
Doesn't he know that as soon as Romney is President unemployment will hit .05% and we will all be millionaires? Oh and the rest of the world will love us again. I can't wait to be a millionaire. Mit will show us the way for sure. end sarchasm.
The economy turn around in 2012? One would certainly hope so. Our economy has always recovered in the past, one would expect the same to happen this time. The difference will be, crediting the president for his brilliant economic leadership, i.e., it could have never happened without Obama's talented leadership. Hogwash!
There are well respected economists that have stated that Obama's 2009 stimulus plan prevented us from diving into a depression. If you look at the job trends, the data shows the stumulus stopped the job losses.
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0000000001?output_view=net_1mth
The data on this page shows the monthly job add/loss from 2002 to present. You will see that job losses began decreasing in May 2009 and contnued until we saw job gains in March 2010. What happened around that time? The stimulus was introduced.
Good point about lower energy costs. Most of us don't see the industrial side of this equation, which is dropping strongly, as you've mentioned. One thing that wasn't mentioned was wage deflation in the US. We're particularly seen this in Michigan, from where I"m writing. Union wages (nearly across the board) have been slashed, giving us once again a growing advantage over other countries. China is suffering some of the worst wage inflation around the world at the same time.
Even though natural gas prices have decreased, if anyone thinks their utility bill has decreased comensurately, all you have to do is look at your natural gas utility bill and compare costs to last year. I expect you will see, as I did, those price reductions are not being passed on to the consumer. The utility companies may be benefiting, but not the consumer.
(a) No it's not.
(b) Lies from the main stream media and politicians – after-all it IS an election year...and...
(c) It's a depression NOT a recession.
Just keep exporting all of the manufacturing and customer support sectors overseas.
Things do seem to be improving, but I'm sure war with Iran will put an end to that as fuel costs will skyrocket.
"At some point, kids don't want to live with their parents and that will produce demand for housing. And at that point, the recovery will gain full steam." Warren Buffet was the first to throw that out. But no where does anyone say how they will pay for these houses. They have an unemployment rate of 24% and their starting salaries are at 1990 levels. We have been stuck in this stagnation for years and will probably be here for years to come. Obama will not challenge the corporations and Romney is their lapdog.
dont forget that this guy is a "special" advisor to obama ... thus the liberal spin to all of his musings! why not use the U6 unemployment numbers?
OK Wayne, let's use the U6 numbers. U6 is down from 14.7 in Feb to 14.5 in March. It was as high as 16.4 in September, so it these numbers also support the argument that Obama has the economy going in the right direction.
Thank's for bringing that up!
Of course the economy is recovering. Anyone can see that and the facts that prove it. Everyone except tea party sheeple.
Do not understand the "spending is up" argument. Is this because everyone all of a sudden has more money or is it because people have to use credit or have tapped into savings?
There will be NO American recovery due to the impending war in Iran. Israel thinks they can bomb Iran, come back home and have 300 Israeli's dead from attacks. Then life will just carry on with no further consequences.
But in reality, an attack on Iran because they might have or might build nuclear weapons, means that this will plunge the entire world into a world conflict from which there will be no recovery. Remember the WMD in Iraq? That's right, you can't remember them because there was not any.
This situation could have been resolved peacefully long ago if countries like the US thought more with their brains than with a gun.
I question why Fareed would want the economy to improve in 2012. Why not 2011 or 2010. Is it because 2012 was an election year and an improving economy would help Barack Obama. Fair enough but come out and say it. "I really want Barack Obama to win re-election. I'm a Liberal Democrat and will write and say anything to make sure that happens . That my column and blogs and reporting is tilted in such a manner to help Barack Obama and the Democratic party" . Just come out and admit it. All I ask is that "Journalists" like Fareed admit their bias and let everyone else know about it.
The answer is so obvious I am tempted not to respond. The reason he predicted recivery in 2012 is because all the items he is using to back up his statement lined up that way. I mean, what difference does it make it the economy improved in 2011 or 2013? The thing that is going to get Obama re-elected is if the voters feel the economy is recovering. We don't have to be in the midst of an economic boom in November, the voters just need to see that we are on the right track. So if the recovery were to start really taking off in 2011, 2012 or 2013 doesn't matter.
what????????
Patrick: Two questions with (possibly) two different answers.
1) Is the nation's economy currently healthy and strong?
2) Is the nation's economy still hurtung but on the road to recovery?
If Obama is re-elected the voters have to feel the answer is "yes" on #2. They do not have to answer "yes" on #1. They have to feel the economy is getting better, but we do not have to be in the midst of an economic boom.
So when will the recovery happen? 2012 or 2013...it doesn't matter as long as we are heading in that directon. The comment I replied to indicated the author had to say 2012 because it is an election year.
Would anyone else like more sugar coating for there daily serving of BS?
One word...NO! but only a stupid Zakaria would tell you different...
Wow. The hate is intense in these blogs. And it is utterly useless.
Hey haters, let me give you a tip: If you disagree with the article, how about posting some facts to back up your position? Otherwise all you are doing is shooting off at the mouth.
The facts the the author used to back up his assesment of the recovery can be verified:
1) Manufacturing is up
2) Retail sales are up
3) Consumer confidence and spending are growing.
4) Employment is increasing
5) Corporate profitability continues to grow
6) Stock market is growing"
Because frankly, it seems to me that your hatred of all things Obama is clouding your ability to think freely. This article states many indicators that the economy is improving, and these indicators can be validated or dismissed through research. But none of you are providing an intelligent argument against it. All we get are "you're lying" (or better yet, "your lying"! Ha ha!).
Unless you have proof that Mr. Zakaria is wrong, you are merely letting your hatred for the president cloud your judgement.
of course economy is "getting better" it's an election year
What recovery? When it cost almost $40.00 to fill a compact car I'm seeing economic "opportunity cost" in other things I'd rather spend my money on than government artificially inflated gas prices to appease the gods of mythical human induced global warming. When gas is $2.00 (or less) per gallon then I'll start tjhinking the economy is turning around. Until then, Obama's policies are just making my middle class life much harder to enjoy. As a matter of fact, between the high price of gas and true inflation at 8% or better, life under Obama has gotten very much worse for the average working person.
Maybe somewhere on some Keynesian ledger somewhere the economy is "improving" however, it doesn't take rocket science to see the evidence that its really not. Take a look around, I have a friend who's a forman for a large contracting company in the Northeast. His company has to send him 3 states away for a week at a time because there is no local work for his crews. I have another friend that's a retail manager. He says customers are down and down a lot. One half of the stores in my local mall are closed with no signs of new businesses going in there. There are ENTIRE strip malls that as dead as an old western ghost town. Last time I needed a doctor's appointment I found it much easier to get in right away, I asked the receptionist why and she said that appointments were down and that phone calls for prescriptions were up. The supermarkets now have these cute half sized carts that everyone is using while the fleet of full sized ones sit there collecting dust. Yet to fill one of these smaller ones costs what it did to fill a larger one a decade ago.
The economy is improving? Really? They tell us inflation is only 3% and that unemployment is only 9%. Yet my cost of living has gone up 9% since last year (yes I keep track of it), and there are more cars parked at home all day than ever before.
Jason: If it rains in your neighborhood does that mean it is raining simultaneously across the entire nation? Some markets in the US were hit harder by the recession, and their recovery may take longer. Where I live things are visibly getting better. When you look at the statistics for the nation as a whole things are getting better.
My comment of a few minutes ago vanished. I am careful how I write, but my political comments are countrary to the propaganda being trumpeted – so they disappear to mold the public opinion in the image that the BIG BROTHER wants. At least I let the writer of this article know how silly his article is -I am sure he read my political comment and removed it.
here's a news flash for you Fareed since your out of touch with reality and it's called a recent "bad jobs report"! ...ever heard of that? ...didn't think so!
Ahhahahaaaa, Fareed, you are just a Liberal parrot. You are no journalist. what a joke, you all are delusional.
Mitt hasn't even started on pummeling Obama. Barack Carter. Perfect, you understand.
We look forward to he next few weeks to watch the barrage, Obama will crawl back to his community organizing soon.
Valuable info. Fortunate me I discovered your site by accident, and I'm surprised why this coincidence did not took place earlier! I bookmarked it.
I plagiarise every day all day long: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
As a matter of fact it is written in my heart all day long. Peace to ya'll. Pray. Prey!