When interest rates are close to their functional floor, there is not a lot that the Fed on its own can do to inflate the economy. Paralyzed fiscal policy from a paralyzed Federal Government seems likely to ensure that the sluggish growth will continue until the US has a damp squib of a recession.

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.