Optimism Ain't What It Used to Be

The NYT ran a piece telling readers "even pessimists feel optimistic about the American economy." What is striking is the nature of the optimism reported in the article. At one point the article gives as one example of this optimism:

"Mr. Behravesh (the chief economist at IHS Global Insight) now expects the annual growth rate to rise to 2.9 percent in 2014 and 3.5 percent in 2015."

The trend rate of GDP growth is between 2.2-2.5 percent according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)...