The Nation’s Economic Outlook

THE NATION’S ECONOMIC OUTLOOK By Jack Malehorn THE U.S. ECONOMY … SIDESTEPS AND PAUSES D D o you remember playing that childhood game when someone would yell freeze and you’d attempt to maintain your balance- composure for what seemed like an eternity? The U.S. Economy appears to be caught in that position and all eyes are poised on whether stability can be sustained. The Consensus—by varying degrees—suggests that the economy will inch along dangerously close to the edge of a steep cliff of recession without losing its balance. Dr. Rajeev Dhawan, Director of Georgia State University’s Economic Forecasting Center, calls for a growth of less than 1 percent with a return to a more respectable long-term growth potential pushed back to 2010. He believes that the credit crisis seems to have been averted due to the Fed providing necessary liquidity this spring. But hopes of the Fed doing any more has been mitigated because of signs of encroaching inflation. With both fuel and food prices on the rise, the likelihood of the Fed jumping in again seems to have been eliminated. In addition, Dhawan believes that the ongoing ruckus over gas prices has essentially cancelled any real ...