Now may be the best holiday retail season in three years, but the damage done to the American economy is far from being repaired. The extension of the tax relief for the middle class at the huge cost of future lost revenue from the rich should help the economy in the short term, but the federal deficit will now be even bigger. Until the last GOP administration, revenues only just kept pace with outlays:
Unless something is done to control federal spending, especially reduction of military spending, the federal deficit will escalate out of control to the point that not even the Chinese will buy US Treasury securities for fear of default. The top owner is our own Federal Reserve Bank ($891bn):
Consumer spending, usually the biggest driver of the US economy, is down because unemployment is still at very high levels compared to previous modern recessions (red line, 2007):
Some economists are worried that the lost jobs may not come back even if there is a more robust recovery. There are more Americans not working as a percentage of the total population that at any time since the 80s, and many people are simply giving up trying to find work:
Adding to the negative effect of unemployment, consumers are still in deep debt and they are de-leveraging by paying off debt or simply defaulting:
Unless something is done to control federal spending, especially reduction of military spending, the federal deficit will escalate out of control to the point that not even the Chinese will buy US Treasury securities for fear of default. The top owner is our own Federal Reserve Bank ($891bn):
Consumer spending, usually the biggest driver of the US economy, is down because unemployment is still at very high levels compared to previous modern recessions (red line, 2007):
Some economists are worried that the lost jobs may not come back even if there is a more robust recovery. There are more Americans not working as a percentage of the total population that at any time since the 80s, and many people are simply giving up trying to find work: 
Adding to the negative effect of unemployment, consumers are still in deep debt and they are de-leveraging by paying off debt or simply defaulting: