Wall Street Journal (04/20/14) Josh Zumbrun

The economic recovery began in June 2009, but nearly five years later, the recovery has proven to be lackluster, with the 6.7% jobless rate a record high at this stage of recent economic expansion and growth in the gross domestic product at just half the pace of the previous three expansions. U.S. Federal Reserve officials expect growth through at least 2016, which would make it the fourth-longest expansion since the Civil War, while the Congressional Budget Office expects growth to occur through at least 2017, or as long as the booms in the 1960s and 1990s. Economists have offered various explanations for the slow recovery, from the uncertainty resulting from tax increases, debt, and regulations to the continuing effects of the 2007-09 financial crisis to slow growth in the labor force and productivity at a time of reduced consumption and increased savings.