It's a 'Could Be Worse' Economy, and We're Living in It

The Sully people catalogue a variety of reactions to today's job numbers.

By far the most revealing analysis of today's news, however, is by Douglas Holtz-Eakin:

The good news is that the economy continues to be resilient despite headwinds that include the fiscal cliff. The bad news is that at best it reflects only growth at the rate of diminished expectations – not enough to provide strong hope to the millions who remain out of work.

Today's DC is obsessed with baselines, and the analyses of the recovery are no different. Should we compare economic growth since the beginning of the recession? Obama's election day? The start of Obama's first term? As a comparison of past recoveries?

This has indeed been a steady recovery, but are we seeing something similar to a potentially permanent decline in housing? Is our new normal for jobs numbers what we've seen in the last few years?

I guess the upside of argument about decadence and demographics is we won't need to worry about finding jobs for a growing workforce, right?