Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says there are encouraging signs the recession is ending, as the Dow Jones industrial average closed Monday above 11,000 for the first time in a year and a half. Grassley, a Republican, says the nation’s economic recovery is clearly underway, but he remains cautious about labeling our current status.
“I don’t think you ought to measure coming out of a recession just by the Dow,” Grassley says. “I think it has to be measured by several different measures.” He says other factors to be weighed should include enhanced retail sales, consumer confidence levels, and investments by corporations, including calling back furloughed workers.
“It’s very positive that the Dow is going up,” Grassley says. “Just think of all the help it’s going to give to insurance companies, to financial institutions, to pension funds, to household credit.” For the millions of Americans who are still unemployed, Grassley says this isn’t a recession, it’s a depression. He notes the jobless rate for youth is twice that of adults.