Shrinking and Expanding

There is a shake out going on. Exactly how it will settle is unclear.

One aspect of it has to do with the drive on Wall Street for profit and the mandatory propulsion of corporations to profit more and more. At some point there has to be a diversion of at least some resources away from this firmament. We need serious money. We have to go green. The resources are there to make the economy boom from green industry. Its as clear as a bell and the country is begging for it.

The alternative is not pretty. Its a hollowed out shell of a country. There has to be shift. The smart people are aware and on it, the research is done, and there are some small gains. The hope is that a progressive, truly visionary leader can embed the ideas and inspire real action.

Yahoo: Economy gains traction in spring; shrank year end

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product, or GDP, increased at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the April-to-June period. That marked an improvement over the feeble 0.9 percent growth logged in the first quarter of this year and an outright contraction in the economy during the final quarter of last year.

Meanwhile, sales of U.S. exports grew at a 9.2 percent pace in the second quarter, up from a 5.1 percent growth rate in the first quarter. The weak dollar has made U.S. goods cheaper to foreign buyers, helping to bolster exports.

A trio of crises — housing, credit and financial — have badly bruised the economy. In response, employers have cut jobs for six months in a row, bringing total losses this year close to a staggering half-million — 438,000.

The photo is by Cindy Sherman.