Economics reporters say we’re better off than four years ago

Joe Strupp of Media Matters for America interviewed some of the industry’s most prominent economics reporters who believe that the country is better off economically than it was four years ago.

Strupp writes, “Other veteran financial scribes point to the overall economic picture today as compared to 2008, while also noting that the positive direction of the economy is important, too. Their comments are supported by a number of key indicators: The economy has grown for twelve consecutive quarters; private sector employment has grown for 29 consecutive months, adding millions of jobs; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has nearly doubled from its low point in March 2009.

“‘From an economic growth standpoint, clearly it is better,’ Kevin Hall, McClatchy’s national economics correspondent, said about the country’s finances.

“‘If you go back and look at the charts — you can pull up the GDP chart, we are growing 2 to 2.2 percent — you would say it is clearly yes, compared to a 3.7 percent contraction in the third quarter of 2008, followed by an 8.9 percent contraction in the fourth quarter of 2008.’

“He later added, ‘You look at how many jobs were lost, December ’07 to June 2009, 7.9 million jobs lost. That is a big, big number. That recession encompassed mostly the Bush era, but also four month of Obama. In the last 28 months, there’s been an increase of roughly 4.4 million jobs, which if you just look at that number, it is a tremendous growth period.’

“‘Clearly we are better off. I don’t know how you could say no,’ he stressed. ‘I think we have taken the steps to shore up our banking system, people have become more proactive in paying down debt, the American consumer has taken steps to be more responsible.'”

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