Washington, D.C. — Center for American Progress Economist Adam Hersh had the following reaction to the announcement of the second-quarter GDP numbers released this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
No one should be surprised that economic growth continues to muddle along: This was the predictable outcome of across-the-board spending cuts in effect since March and other mounting fiscal austerity building wrought by deficit hawks in Congress. It is important to recognize that the choice to cut public spending is a deliberate political calculation made by leadership in the Republican-led House of Representatives that is costing the U.S. economy jobs and forestalling the aspirations for economic progress shared by millions of strained working families across the country. Restoring the ill-advised spending cuts is a no-brainer way to boost the economy, literally tomorrow. As CBO estimates show, we’d add 0.7 percentage points to GDP growth and nearly 1 million additional new jobs over the next year. This action could plug the dike, but policymakers must still focus their efforts on strengthening the more than 300 million people in working families who are America’s true engines of economic growth.
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