The Reckoning

The Bush economic boom has vanished, up in smoke, as if it never happened.

Mort Zuckerman makes this point in today’s WSJ:

The cumulative job losses over the last six months have been greater than for any other half year period since World War II, including the military demobilization after the war. The job losses are also now equal to the net job gains over the previous nine years, making this the only recession since the Great Depression to wipe out all job growth from the previous expansion.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is about 30% lower than it was in January 2001. The Case-Schiller house prices index remains higher than in 2001, but this may imply only that housing prices have further to fall. The Bush boom has vanished, up in smoke, as if it never happened.