2014 was supposed to be the year that the economy finally broke out of its subpar, post-crisis pace of growth. But the first few months of the year were a big disappointment, and in fact Q1 GDP was decidedly negative. Of course, the economic bulls had an excuse for this: Weather. It was well known that there was an unusual amount of cold and snow at the start of the year, and that that kind of weather keeps people home. So this spring became a moment of truth for the economy. If the data stayed bad through spring, that means that meant that there was something deeper wrong with the economy beyond the weather. If ... (full story)