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Darek evaluates the recovery.

By Darek Johnson

An October Platte Retail Institute (PRI) report said economic indicators suggest the 19-month recession may be bottoming out. “The U.S. economy is finally on an uptick,” the report said, “yet the question remains as to whether the consumer is ready and willing to spend.”
The PRI director, Dr. Steven K. Platt, believes most consumers will make a “structural shift” in their purchase behavior, which will curb retail spending. He compares today’s consumers with those who survived the 1930s depression and said such experiences produce conservative consumers.
PRI forecasts retail sales to have a moderate recovery, with moderate income growth and employment gains.
If you’d like a more intimate view of the recovery progress, visit www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx, the government’s recovery website. This beautifully crafted site’s map allows you to click on a state’s likeness, to see the amount of recovery funds it has received and the number of jobs created.
Texas, for example, was awarded $534,020,000, but has received $48,086,000. That amount has created 1,100 jobs.
I clicked further to learn the Texas Salvation Army received $400,000 with zero jobs created; and the City of Lubbock received $94,744 …
At that point, the website crashed.