Wonk Wire‘s “chart of the day” is especially interesting today.

Charlie Cook: “Immigration and gun control have
dominated the issue agenda for the past few weeks, pushing away, for a
time, the previously dominant worries about fiscal issues and their
impact on the overall health of the U.S. economy. But Wednesday
morning’s news that the economy, as measured by real gross domestic
product, had declined in the fourth quarter of 2012 by one-tenth of a
percentage point–surprising economists who had expected the economy to
grow by 1 percent–brings these issues back to the forefront. In the
third quarter of 2012, real GDP grew by 3.1 percent.”

Wall Street Journal: “The U.S. added 157,000 jobs last month, signaling a slow start to the year, though revisions showed 2012 job growth was stronger than once thought. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9%.”

Wonk Wire: How to read this month’s jobs report.

Wall Street Journal: “U.S. economic momentum screeched to a halt in the final months of
2012, as businesses pared back inventories and government spending fell
sharply, while lawmakers struggled to reach a deal on tax increases and
budget cuts. The nation’s gross domestic product shrank for the first time in
three and a half years during the fourth quarter, declining at an annual
rate of 0.1% between October and December.”

“Three women angry over sexism and male domination of the world economy ripped off their shirts and tried to force their way into a gathering of corporate elites in a Swiss resort,” the AP reports.

“Predictably, they failed. The ubiquitous and huge security force policing the World Economic Forum in Davos carried the women away, kicking and screaming.”

First Read compiles some statistics from the start of President Obama’s first term.

“The Dow Jones Industrial average is up 5,550 points since then. The economy is growing (instead of contracting). Consumer confidence has nearly doubled (though it remains below where it was before the Great Recession). And a larger percentage of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction (but a majority still think it’s on the wrong track).”

“On the other hand, there’s data indicating that the nation isn’t better off than it was four years ago – and that the Great Recession continues to take a toll on families. Median household income (adjusted for inflation) is lower than it was in 2009. And more Americans live below the poverty level than they did four years ago.”

Annie Lowrey: “Consider how different our politics might be today if the economy had not collapsed in 2008 and not been mired in sluggish growth ever since. A ballpark estimate suggests that if the economy were to grow one percentage point more than expected in each year over the next 10, the deficit would shrink by more than $3 trillion. That would be more than enough to set the ratio of our debt to our annual economic output on a comforting downward trajectory. Moreover, it would happen without making cuts to a single program, like Medicare or food stamps, or without raising a single dollar of additional tax revenue. Even a much smaller boost to growth — say one-tenth of a percentage point per year, or even half that — would make Congress and the White House’s burden hundreds of billions of dollars lighter.”

U.S. job growth dropped slightly in December, “showing that the economy muddled along as Congress fought over tax increases and spending cuts,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by a seasonally adjusted 155,000 jobs last month… The unemployment rate, obtained by a separate survey of U.S. households, was 7.8%, the same as the prior month, after an upward revision to the November figure.”

Wonk Wire has reaction to the jobs report.

Wall Street Journal: “The U.S. economy expanded at an even faster pace than previously estimated in the third quarter, but the gains could be an outlier for the year as fiscal cliff worries and superstorm Sandy will likely slow growth in the final months of 2012.”

The Federal Reserve “refashioned its bond-buying programs, extending its far-reaching effort to revitalize the jobs market and boost the economic recovery into 2013,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“In addition, the Fed shifted its communications strategy by specifying the levels of unemployment and inflation that might prompt it to begin raising short-term interest rates, which are now near zero.”

Wonk Wire has more details and reaction.

Real gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 2.7% in the third quarter, Marketwatch reports, up from an initial estimate of 2%.

It was the fastest pace since the end of last year.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that 2013 could be a “very good year” for the U.S. economy if politicians can strike a quick deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, Reuters reports.

“The powerful central bank chief called for a credible long-term framework to put the federal budget on a sound path, but warned against action that would needlessly add to the headwinds facing the economy.”

Wonk Wire: A fiscal cliff solution will avoid another recession.

The Labor Department has not yet ruled out delaying Friday’s jobs report due to the havoc caused by Hurricane Sandy, the Washington Post reports.

The U.S. gross domestic product “grew at an annual rate of 2% in the third quarter as consumers spent more, federal-government spending accelerated and the housing industry improved,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Dylan Matthews: “Politically, that’s good news for the president’s reelection campaign-at least according to most election forecasting models. Given President Obama’s pre-summer approval rating of 46.4 percent, and the average growth rate of 1.766 percent for 2012 to date, the Wonkblog election model puts the odds of Obama winning reelection at about 81.3 percent.”

The RNC collected clips of Democrats making excuses for the sluggish economy in a new video.

[Read more…]

CNBC: “U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose to its highest level in five years in October as consumers became more optimistic about the overall economy in a possible boost to President Obama’s reelection hopes next month.”

Jack Welch: “Imagine a country where challenging the ruling authorities — questioning, say, a piece of data released by central headquarters — would result in mobs of administration sympathizers claiming you should feel “embarrassed” and labeling you a fool, or worse. Soviet Russia perhaps? Communist China? Nope, that would be the United States right now, when a person (like me, for instance) suggests that a certain government datum (like the September unemployment rate of 7.8%) doesn’t make sense. Unfortunately for those who would like me to pipe down, the 7.8% unemployment figure released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last week is downright implausible. And that’s why I made a stink about it.”

Bloomberg: “If President Barack Obama is trying to spread the wealth, he doesn’t have much to show for it… Since Obama took office in January 2009, wealthy Americans have continued to pull away from the rest of society. In the aftermath of the recession, income inequality in the U.S. reached a new high in 2011, Census Bureau data show.”