The New York Times reports today, “The United States economy grew by a tepid 1.5 percent annual rate in the second quarter, losing the momentum it had appeared to be gaining earlier this year, the government reported Friday. Growth was curbed as consumers limited new spending and as business investment slowed in the face of a global slowdown and a stronger dollar. . . . A slowdown in household spending was the primary damper on growth, as consumers increased their savings rate, a sign of increased uncertainty about the future.”

And the AP writes, “U.S. economic growth slowed to an annual rate of just 1.5 percent from April through June, as Americans cut back sharply on spending. The weaker growth adds to worries that the economy could be stalling three years after the recession ended. . . . Growth at or below 2 percent isn’t enough to lower the unemployment rate, which was 8.2 percent last month. And most economists don’t expect growth to pick up much in the second half of the year. Europe’s financial crisis and a looming budget crisis in the U.S. are expected to slow business investment further. ‘The main take away from today’s report, the specifics aside, is that the U.S. economy is barely growing,’ said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at BTIG LLC. ‘Along with a reduction in the actual amount of money companies were able to make, it’s no wonder the unemployment rate cannot move lower.’”

The tepid GDP numbers today only serve to highlight how misguided Senate Democrats’ vote yesterday to raise taxes on nearly a million small businesses was. Fifty-one Democrats voted to raise taxes, despite President Obama’s warning when he signed a full extension of current tax rates two years ago that automatic tax increases on every American “would have been a blow to our economy just as we’re climbing out of a devastating recession.”

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