Economists can’t blame this lame economy on the weather forever. It snows in the winter. Get used to it. At some point it comes down to the fact that there aren’t enough of us working, our manufacturing base is in China, and the Fed is run by academics poisoning the patient with easy money. The proof is in the pudding as retail sales and payrolls stumble along. Bloomberg reports:
This year’s harsh winter is causing the pace of U.S. economic growth to fall along with the mercury.
February payrolls may be the next victim of the severe weather that has gripped the country during the last three months, following disappointing data released yesterday on January retail sales. This week’s snow and ice storms in the eastern U.S. came during the period when the Bureau of Labor Statistics conducts its monthly employer survey, which it uses to calculate changes in payrolls, hours and earnings for the jobs report scheduled for release March 7.
That may make it difficult for Federal Reserve policy makers to gauge whether signs of weakness can be chalked up to the elements, or if the economy has taken a turn for the worse. Banks from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Morgan Stanley have reduced their estimates for first-quarter U.S. growth, after forecasters entered the year with the most optimism since 2010.
