First, I should point out that I’m not an economist and only a fool would consider my predictions about the economy to be good financial advice. However, I have a digital subscription to the Asheville Citizen Times, which includes USA Today.
I also digitally subscribe to the Charlotte Observer, New York Times and Washington Post. I frequently watch Fox News to keep up with right wing commentary. Fortunately, for a comprehensive coverage of important news events, readers of this newspaper get it all.
That’s why I’m surprised that most journalists predicted a good 2024 for the United States. You could add to this surprise the optimism of prestigious economists. The University of Michigan’s Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics concluded that “We expect the U.S. economy to avoid a recession over the next two years.” They expect 1.7% Real GDP growth in 2024, compared to an estimated 2.4% for 2023.
How can this happen, since all the major news organizations describe seriously worsening conditions throughout the world? You’ll find that all the following reports of news events published by other newspapers in 2023 were also reported by the Asheville Citizen Times’ single Jan. 4 issue. There were too many to list here, but these few seemed most instructive.
Headline: “How were so many economists so wrong about the recession?” Last year 85% of economists in one poll predicted a recession this year. It quoted the Federal Reserve as being concerned that raising…
