Consumers Aren't Making Enough Money and it Could Get Worse

The biggest hurdle to a stronger economy is the lackluster wage growth during the current recovery, according to Richard Yamarone, a Senior Economist at Bloomberg. Yamarone said the economy has been muddling along for years because the consumer isn’t in the driver’s seat. ‘Consumers are running in place,’ said Yamarone ‘ They’re not making as much money, and adjusted for inflation, they’re really not making a whole heckuva lot of money. And how do you facilitate trade, or consumption? By how much money you bring in.’ Yamarone said the lack of consumer spending power explains why GDP growth has been running in a range of 1.5% to 2.5%, which he believes is disappointing at this stage of the recovery. ‘We’re muddling along. It’s not a strong thing, it’s not a positive thing,’ he said, ‘We’re just merely getting by.’ Yamarone spoke with TheStreet’s Rhonda Schaffler at Camp Kotok, an annual gathering of economists and money managers held each year in Maine.