PERRspectives: State and Local Governments Finally End Years of Anti-Stimulus
"As 2015 opens, the American economy seems poised for robust economic expansion. Strong GDP growth and job creation, falling first-time jobless claims, surging stocks and (finally) rising wages show the Obama recovery from the Bush recession which began in late 2007 is starting to hit on all cylinders.
And to be sure, it is the Obama recovery. After all, as the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the overwhelming consensus of economists agree, it was the $800 billion stimulus program along with action by the Fed that fueled the economic rebound which prevented "Great Depression 2.0." But America's bounce-back could have bigger and happened much faster but for the draconian austerity programs embraced by state and local governments. Their steep spending cuts and painful lay-offs constituted an "anti-stimulus" that has significantly slowed America's recovery since 2008."
