Is the Commerce Department’s recent report of a second straight quarter of economic growth a true indicator that the recession is over? See what our readers had to say and weigh in with your comments.

Here we present the results of the Feb. 2ASIE-News survey.

The Commerce Department reported a 5.7% annual growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2009. This second straight quarter of growth marked the fastest rate of growth since 2003 and is being touted as the strongest evidence to date that the recession is over. Do you think this growth can be sustained?

No, it is due to restocking of inventories and will slow back down: 33.333%
No, high unemployment will keep consumer spending down: 59.524%
Yes, it is a true measure of the recession being over: 7.143%

Comments:

“As long as we have excessive and obtrusive government control in the U.S., things will be slow.”

“The Obama spend and tax machine is kicking into gear!”

“The Federal government does NOT understand that growth occurs ONLY when the private sector is not burdened with excessive taxes and regulations. This is lost on our current administration. Government jobs do NOT produce anything. Bureaucratic jobs add NOTHING to industry as a whole. Creating jobs within the government is simply another form of welfare that drains industry of valuable revenue.”