ECONOMY - 2010, the BIG View

This article is so relieving that I am posting most (but not all) of it.

"The economy and the 2010 election (with graphs!)" by Ezra Klein, Washington Post 4/8/2010

Excerpts (click on graphs for larger view)

As we edge closer and closer to the midterms and people like me keep saying that the main thing that matters is the economy; both its absolute performance over the past 14 months and its apparent trends. But why say it when you can graph it?

..... housing prices. Note that this graph, which uses Case-Shiller data, runs back to 1988. You're looking for the performance at the right edge, beginning in January of 2010:



The Dow Jones Industrial Average:



The Libor, which is the interest rate at which banks lend to one another and is generally considered a measure of financial risk. Its 2008 spike was among the most unexpected and terrifying indicators of the crisis:



And, finally, GDP. A quick note on this graph: The data is quarterly, so the dot in April of 2009 is covering January, February, and March of that year, which is to say, the start of the Obama presidency:



Folks wanted a graph on unemployment rates, too, so I've added one:



You'll see I've got two rates on there: The first is the normal unemployment rate. The second is "U6," which is a broader measure of employment distress. It includes "marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons."