The federal government is a large and sprawling beast, spitting out economic reports as routinely as politicians call press conferences. The only difference in the 21st century being that official statistical releases now come a la carte, and in a variety of flavors. Search for a perspective that suits you, and consume only what you want.
Case in point: If you’re feeling gloomy about Friday’s surprisingly weak report on the economy for the fourth quarter, the ever helpful Treasury Secretary John Snow has a few encouraging words to counter the gloom emanating from that other government agency. “The advanced estimate of fourth quarter 2005 GDP released this morning is inconsistent with the underlying strength of the U.S. economy,” he opined in a press release dispatched after the Bureau of Economic Analysis released the advance estimate of GDP for last year’s October-through-December period.
Not only does Secretary Snow find reason to question BEA’s fourth-quarter analysis, he suggests that an informed observer might do well by looking elsewhere for economic enlightenment. “I would not read too much into today’s numbers,” he counsels. “They are somewhat anomalous, reflecting some special factors.” (Is that Treasury-speak for the BEA goofed?)