Silent depression

With the U.S. economy once again a top priority of policy makers, it is worth understanding that matters are worse than they seem. Output, the traditional "bottom-line" measure of the economy's health, has turned up. The recession of 1990-91 is over. But the tepid recovery leaves much to be desired. Digging deeper, longtime observer of the economy Wallace C. Peterson finds plenty of cause for alarm. Wages, family income, and productivity growth began a long, downward. Trend in 1973 that continues to this day. The riveting drama of the 1929 stock market crash will not be repeated, but the…