The Narrative Fails Again…Unexpectedly!
The Perpetual Surprise of Prosperity Just in time for Christmas, the Bureau of Economic Analysis finally released the delayed third-quarter GDP figures-delayed, of course, by the longest government shutdown in modern history-and what do we find? Real GDP growth at an annualized 4.3%, accelerating from 3.8% in Q2 and marking the strongest quarterly expansion in two years. Consumer spending surges 3.5%, exports jump 8.8%, and corporate profits leap $166 billion. Yet the headlines, from CNBC to CNN, uniformly intone the same ritual incantation: "much more than expected," "unexpectedly robust," "blasts past forecasts." This is not mere journalistic shorthand. It is the…