@ETpro The state of the economy is rather moot if you are not a part of it; too broke to spend and too unemployed to contribute.
It seems that the real breakthrough is huge bonuses so that companies can increase their overhead costs on paper and thus have less profit to move to offshore accounts come tax time. I mean, when you reduce head count in teh trenches, that means more money for the people at the top and for the stock holders and the brokers who get their commission.
You are correct that we are not technically in a recession, but unless we manage to do something to enable the peons to be able to afford things. After all, a healthy economy requires the movement of money; when consumers spend less, manufacturers produce less and/or lay people off, which… well, I think you can already see where that goes.
Of course, as long as the country is doing fine, what does it matter how the people who live here are doing?