Good Economic News
May 22nd, 2006 by Brendan SteinhauserMichael Barone shares the good news here.Â
Things are better than you think. Yes, I know, most Americans are in a sour mood these days, convinced that the struggle in Iraq is an endless cycle of bloodshed, certain that our economy is in dismal shape, lamenting that the nation and the world are off on the wrong track.
That’s what polls tell us. But if we look at some other numbers, we’ll find that we are living not in the worst of times, but in something much closer to the best.
What do I mean? First, economic growth. In 2005, as in 2004, the world economy grew by about 5 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund, and the IMF projects similar growth for several years to come. This is faster growth than in all but a few peak years in the 1980s and 1990s, and it’s in vivid contrast to the long periods of stagnation or contraction in history.
