The Economy Stalls Again

• First quarter GDP increased at an inflation-adjusted rate by only 0.2 percent.
• President Obama should work with the Republican Congress on common-sense, bipartisan proposals to increase economic growth.

Today the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that first quarter GDP increased at an inflation-adjusted, annualized rate of 0.2 percent, far below expectations. Economists had predicted growth of one percent for the quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2014, GDP increased at an annualized rate of 2.2 percent; and for all of 2014, GDP increased by 2.4 percent.

This marks the third time in the last 10 quarters that President Obama’s economy has stalled. In the fourth quarter of 2012, we had growth at an annualized rate of 0.1 percent; in the first quarter of 2014, GDP contracted by a staggering 2.1 percent; and today’s report shows that the economy is beginning to stall yet again.

We need to end these recurring periods of economic stall and to return to consistent high-growth in our economy. President Obama has fared especially poorly in this regard. During his presidency, there have been only seven quarters in which growth met or exceeded three percent. This is the lowest of any two-term president at this point in their tenure since quarterly records have been kept. It is tied with one-term Jimmy Carter.