Annual Economic Report of the President released today

The WSJ summarizes 5 dynamics highlighted in the report.

  1. Global growth consistently falling short of estimates -- only Turkey and Saudi Arabia have exceeded Oct 2010 IMF projections.
  2. The decline in unionization has been a secular trend putting downward pressure on wages
  3. The rise in housing costs can't be explained by construction costs but land-use regulations may be part of the equation
  4. Unfunded state and local pension funds remain a major problem
  5. Economists are puzzled by low productivity but robotics could close the gap