>>This economic recovery has been a big disappointment
What economic recovery? I have more unemployed friends now that ever. I know more underemployed people than I’ve ever known. Prices are up. Wages are stagnant at best, but lower for many. Even my 401k has not even made up the losses of the last 4 years.
Where is the recovery that I keep hearing about, or is all just statistical smoke and mirrors?
That's why I call mine a 201K.
Agreed. The statistics are not honest for a couple of reasons.
First of all the inflation rate is underestimated due to leaving food and fuel out of the CPI numbers. Since real GDP uses the CPI to adjust it from the nominal GDP, RGDP is probably overestimated.
Second, the abuse of the unemployment data is chicanery of the highest order. There is simply no possible way that good data can be used when they have to revise the official number up every week for almost a year.
Of course all the matters is the that the headlines look good, doesn’t matter what the revisions on page 5 say, if it even gets covered at all.