The following is an excerpt from an article that originally appeared on opednews.com

Newly released Q IV GDP data showed growth contracted 0.1%. Sequestered deficit cutting suggests further declines. Consumer confidence is low for good reason. Europe, China, Japan, and other major world economies show weakness.

Is America on track for double dip trouble? In Q IV, government and business inventory spending declined. Auto sales alone drove consumer spending gains. Deep discounts, near zero interest rates, and Hurricane Sandy affected purchases stimulated sales.

Exports were down. Weak global manufacturing and trade affected them. Healthcare spending slowed noticeably. US economic growth ground to a halt. Doing so suggests weakness going forward.

Artificial stimulus works only so long. Q III included record defense spending. It accounted for over a third of GDP growth. It followed two years of reduced government spending.

Q III data were released days before November elections. Good news benefitted Obama.

True Q III GDP growth was misreported. It wasn’t 3%. When accurately adjusted, it was 1 – 1.5%. It’s been that way for two years. Day of reckoning signs appeared in Q IV.

Multiple quantitative easing rounds barely held economic growth above water. Money printing madness substituted for stimulative growth. Central bank intervention repeated what hasn’t before worked.

European economies are troubled. America shows weakness. Force-fed austerity doesn’t work. Decline replaces prosperity. Living standards deteriorate. Households have less to spend.

Production and consumption suffer. So does the real economy. Financial war helps speculators alone benefit. Eventually expect systemic crisis. It could take months or years to arrive.

Market manipulation delays day of reckoning time. It can’t prevent it. Q IV GDP suggests 2013 weakness. Headwinds may be stiffer than expected.

Payroll tax increases cuts $100 billion from GDP. It does so when stimulus is needed. Consumer sentiment and spending are weak.

Expect sequestered/largely discretionary $1.2 trillion cuts by end of March. Stiff 10 – 20% health insurance premium hikes impact healthcare spending.

Business spending spiked in Q IV. It did so ahead of expected tax law changes. Expect it to slow in Q I. Manufacturing is weak. Housing remains troubled. So is America’s economy. Odds favor double-dip trouble.

Five years after economic collapse, virtually zero growth was achieved. Wall Street was bailed out. Main Street was sold out.

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