This chart tells it all

Message from me:

It shows that the GDP numbers were being underestimated during the Bush years, and overestimated in the Obama years. Since everybody pays attention to the initial estimates, the Bush years are seen as worse than they really were, and the Obama years are seen as better than they really are.

Published on Zero Hedge (http://www.zerohedge.com)

Home > Peter Schiff On The Half Full Economy

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Peter Schiff On The Half Full Economy

By Tyler Durden

Created 08/09/2013 - 17:11

The marginal economic strength that was described in the most recent GDP release from Washington has caused many to double down on their belief that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering Quantitative Easing sometime later this year. While some believe that is a fantasy given our economy's extreme dependence on QE, market observers should have learned long ago that the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) initial GDP estimates can't be trusted. A perusal of their subsequent GDP revisions in the last five years reveals a clear trend: They are almost twice as likely to revise initial estimates down rather than up, and the downward adjustments have been much larger on average. As a result of this phenomenon, an overall optimism has pervaded the economic discussion that has consistently been unfulfilled by actual performance. The government is continuously over promising and under delivering. Unfortunately, no one seems to care.

Bush years on left, Obama on right.  Note that the red is smaller in the Bush years, but larger in the Obama years.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-08-09/peter-schiff-half-full-economy