The Great Recession is over, but the Great Recovery isn’t quite here. That’s no surprise. We’ve been expecting a rather lengthy transition that’s betwixt and between for some time. A year ago we opined that “the recovery period, whenever it commences, will be unusually slow and sluggish.” We’ve reiterated the forecast a number of times. Perhaps future economic data will prove otherwise, although for the moment there’s no shortage of like-minded thinkers.

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Everyone knows that the U.S., and most of the mature economies around the world, are swimming in a sea of red ink. The great unknown is the degree and form of the blowback. The optimistic view is that the pain will be relatively mild and that the recovery in the world economy will help nations grow their way out of the problem. But what if growth isn’t sufficiently strong or durable? In that case, the future may be quite a bit less rosy than the optimists predict.

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