US economy: better

The US budget deficient is lower than predicted, the economy is growing, unemployment is at 5.4%, and Alan Greenspan has a bit more to say. A critical part of the national economy is preparing for the baby-boomer generation to retire. The expense of this is increased with every rise in Social Security benifits, and increasing healthcare costs have created new fears for the federal budget. Or, as Greenspan puts it:

While the expanding economy will lead to a smaller deficit in the next few years, ``the prospects for the federal budget over the longer term remain troubling,'' the chairman (Alan Greenspan) said. ``With the baby boomers starting to retire in a few years, and health spending continuing to soar, our budget position will almost surely deteriorate substantially in coming years if current policies remain in place.''

An interesting economic footnote is what I will call the "ebay industry". These companies sell products on ebay or similar services, but are not (or are rarely) included in economic data. Mr. Cheney mentioned them several days ago, but the Kerryites think the comment is either a sign of how people must sell their property or is a complete lie. However, Mr. Cheney is quite right. I know because, until I quit several months ago (due to complications with school), I worked for one such company. In fact, they pay fairly well (especially for a job that requires almost no experience), and are probably trying to hire more people.

But, how did Cheney find out about these companies?