Krugman’s Notes Should Be For Coral Gables

Let soothsayers of good times ahead–including city managers who are speeding up investments and refinancing debt–recognize that we are not slipping out of a recession and we may be slipping back into a recession.

Put together

• declining property values and revenues for the city of Coral Gables,
• resistance from unions to accept really important sacrifices,
• new city debt and ambitious capital program (admittedly, some of which may essential maintenance of city infrastructure),
• a faltering Biltmore lease,
• a faltering, sickly real estate market,
• sluggish retail sales, and
• candidate promises of no new taxes

…estimates now suggest that we have now gone through a year and a half of “recovery” that has failed to make any progress toward closing the gap between what the economy should be producing and what it’s actually producing.

via Third Depression Watch – NYTimes.com.