Quote Of The Day

When I posted the below open thread, one of the data points used to suggest things were actually recovering was a rise in income that was 0.6% higher than expect (and actually positive — expectation was negative). But it appears that this might be an anomaly brought on by our Congress. From The Big Picture:

April Personal Income rose .5%, much better than expectations of a drop of .2% while Spending fell .1%, .1% better than forecasts. The revisions to March were modest. The factor in the surprise gain in income was related to the Government’s stimulus plan where transfer payments rose smartly and there was also reduced personal current taxes. The Commerce Dept specifically said the income component “was boosted as a result of provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.”

So hey, the economy isn’t actually recovering, but boy we’re at least paying people to do government work with newly-printed money. Boy, how I love the New New Deal!