America's perpetual doldrums

What disappointing GDP numbers signal about the economy

President Trump.
(Image credit: Illustrated | BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images, Screenshot/FRED)

The economy grew at a disappointing 1.9 percent in real terms for the third quarter, government numbers reported Wednesday.

It's darkly amusing to hold this result up against President Trump's regular bombastic promises to deliver soaring growth numbers. But there's nothing funny about the possibility that the latest recovery cycle is slowing to a close. Particularly since it would only confirm the even darker suspicion that the country's decades-long economic slowdown is continuing apace.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.