The Reverse Lake Woebegone Effect

All of our economic figures are below average!

Four years after the recession of 2001 ended, the economic recovery remains just around the corner. Every month, the Labor Department reports anemic growth in the number of new jobs. March was no exception and produced a report typical for the Bush administration. The number of new jobs in March:

• was half of the predicted number,
• even after revising previous months' figures downward, and
• was insufficient to even keep pace with the natural growth of the employable population.

As First Draft regularly asks, "Where's My Bush Boom?" A Republican colleague at work has been telling me for the past 4 years that jobs are always a lagging indicator following a recession. My question now is, "Will job growth catch up before the next recession hits or before Bush finishes his second term in office, whichever comes first?"