Economy grew at 2.4% in first quarter

The initial estimate was that the U.S. economy grew at 2.5% in the first three months of 2013, which was underwhelming, but a step up from the final quarter of 2012. The revised estimate showed slightly slower growth.

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.4% annual pace in the first quarter, little changed from the originally reported 2.5% increase, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected growth to remain unchanged at 2.5%. Consumer spending was somewhat higher, while business investment and government outlays were revised down, according to the government's second assessment of gross domestic product.

Those looking for good news will be encouraged by the fact that consumer spending was revised up to its fastest rate in two years. Given its significance in the economy, that's a heartening figure.

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On the other hand, figures on government spending were revised down, and these cuts remained a serious drag on growth. No matter how much the right chooses to resist this, government spending cuts are largely responsible for tepid growth and are the biggest factor preventing a more robust recovery. It's painfully obvious -- GDP would be roughly a full point higher were it not for reduced government spending.

Congressional Republicans are aware of this ... and yet they're demanding more spending cuts anyway.

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Overall, the nation has seen 14 consecutive quarters of economic growth, starting in mid-2009, when President Obama's Recovery Act helped put the nation on stronger footing.

As for the image above, the chart shows GDP numbers by quarter since the Great Recession began. The red columns show the economy under the Bush administration; the blue columns show the economy under the Obama administration.