Watch while I pull an economic recovery out of my hat!

This explains a few things. Robert Reich published a piece yesterday: Why aren't we getting the truth about the economy.

We are all so desperate for good news that any growth is touted as a sign of recovery--even on NPR--and yet, it's not happening. The only recovery I notice is the annoying kind--a bit more traffic on the streets and freeways--and the pathetic kind--a few companies actually respond to me when I apply for jobs, then I spend $15 in gas and two hours of my life interviewing for a position that 50 other people want including some young thing right out of college willing to work for peanuts and stay up all night.

I do have a fairly steady stream of freelance but I should mention that I'm working for one-third to one-half my previous hourly rate.

In the words of Mr. Reich:

...consumer confidence is plummeting. It's weaker today on average than at the lowest point of the Great Recession.

Real hourly wages continue to fall, and housing prices continue to drop. Hourly wages are falling because with unemployment so high, most people have no bargaining power and will take whatever they can get.

But isn't the economy growing again - by an estimated 2.5 to 2.9 percent this year? Yes, but that's even less than peanuts. The deeper the economic hole, the faster the growth needed to get back on track. By this point in the so-called recovery, we'd expect the economy to be growing by 4 to 6 percent.

Consider that back in 1934, when it was emerging from the deepest hole of the Great Depression, the economy grew 7.7 percent. The next year, it grew over 8 percent. In 1936, it grew a whopping 14.1 percent.

So why aren't we getting the truth about the economy? For one thing, Wall Street is buoyant, and most financial news you hear comes from the Street. Wall Street profits soared to $426.5 billion last quarter, according to the Commerce Department.

Yes, Mr. Reich, it goes to prove my thesis that people are pigs and rich people are the piggiest.