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| Moneybox You Have To Admit It's Getting Better The economy seems to be recovering. Here's the evidence. Posted Thursday, Oct 20, 2011, at 10:57 PM ET  Everything is getting better. No, no, I know. It seems as if everything is getting worse again. Moody's Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi says there is a 40 percent chance of a double-dip. The Economic Cycle Research Institute, which has forecast the last three recessions, says another recession is a sure thing—and imminent, to boot. And it certainly doesn't feel as if things are getting better. Real median income has fallen about 10 percent since the recession started: It predictably declined through the crisis and, surprisingly, has kept on plummeting through the recovery, too. As David Cay Johnston notes, examining Social Security Administration data, about half of American wage-earners made less than $26,000 last year. The unemployment rate is 9.1 percent, the rate of underemployment far higher. Housing sales are dragging along at their slowest pace in 13 years. Even so, a spate of new data suggest that the trends, at the least, might be looking up for now, and the possibility of a double-dip recession might be fading. First off, housing. Yes, Americans are buying far fewer homes than they used to. Today, the National Association of Realtors announced that existing home sales fell from August to September, dropping 3 percent to a 4.91 million annual rate. That's about 10 percent better than last year. But it is about 20 percent less than economists would expect, given a healthy economy. The good news comes in construction. This month, housing starts smashed expectations ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Republicans' Ridiculous Complaints That Obama Is Taking Troops Out of Iraq Too Soon Steve Jobs' Final Obsession—the Apple TV—Nearing Production Too Young for Gen X, Too Old for Millennials: My Generation Is Generation Catalano! | Advertisement  |
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