Our Stagnant, Stuck-In-The-Muck U.S. Economy

We’re still stuck in the muck.

That’s the conclusion to draw from the new report on gross domestic product. The U.S. economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, which was an improvement from the weak 0.4 percent of the final months of 2012. But Friday’s report was nearly a percentage point below analysts’ expectations, and for the last six months, number averages to only a 1.45 percent annual rate of growth.