Weakening recovery brings deja vu
Reporting from Washington —
Even as Congress moves to extend jobless benefits for millions of workers, a growing body of evidence suggests the United States is heading toward an economic netherworld — avoiding a slide back into recession but growing so slowly that unemployment will remain high, home prices low and incomes essentially stagnant.
Many Americans may continue to feel much as they did during the worst recession in half a century: filled with insecurity, financial pressures and fading hopes for a quick return to better times.
“Extended unemployment benefits is helpful but hardly the booster rocket that’s needed to get out of the gravitational pull of this terrible economy,” said Robert Reich, a public policy professor at UC Berkeley.
