US Economy Slowing Down AGAIN!

The United States economy appears to be headed toward more trouble, according to new reports. Economic growth, job creation, and consumer confidence are all down once again, despite the many billions of dollars the US government has pumped into the economy over the past 2 years.

Politicians and investors are hoping it's only a temporary "speed bump" but some experts are saying we're headed for another big recession. According to economist Paul Ashworth:

"It is now pretty clear that the economy ran into a brick wall [in April, 2011]... The extent of this slowdown is becoming a big concern."

The news is pretty much bad across all sectors of the American economy. In fact, only 54,000 new jobs were created last month, way fewer than were expected. The bad news shows that the economy may not be building up the momentum the country needs to pull itself out of one of the worst recessions in history... and that we may be heading toward a dreaded "double dip" recession.

Many things are hurting US consumers and workers right now. Gasoline prices are way up, boosting the prices of just about everything. Huge floods and tornadoes have shut down businesses all over the South. A shortage of vital parts from Japan -- due to the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdowns that occurred there -- has hurt auto and other forms of manufacturing.

Here at home in Las Vegas the high gasoline prices are definitely affecting tourism negatively. On top of that, job growth in tourism, hospitality, leisure, and retail has basically ground to a halt. Not good news for a city that is definitely still in the doldrums of the recession.

Still, some economists and experts believe that it's only a matter of time before growth picks up again. Already gasoline prices are beginning to cool off a little, mainly because demand is dropping. Japanese parts suppliers are ramping up production much faster than suggested. Small businesses are being launched at a very brisk pace and will, hopefully, begin hiring people in large numbers again in coming months.

We say: Unless the politicians in Washington DC figure out how to stop fighting over non-vital issues and actually fix some major problems facing our economy, the US is screwed. The Democrats, despite their giant stimulus, don't seem to know what to do but the Republicans seem to not even care about fixing things. They have yet to present one "jobs" bill in Congress since taking over in January!

Learn some mo': Slow-moving economy runs into 'brick wall'