Fed's Lockhard: Concern about economy and jobs are holding back growth

Dennis Lockhart isn't worried about inflation, but he understands that main street is.  He has long been a proponent of QE2, but it doesn't seem like many in the Fed are defending their actions.  He says that the fear of jobs and growth are limiting business spending and thus holding back the economy.  So, it is not the economy that sucks, it is our perception of the economy that sucks, and it is that perception that creates reality. 

Try fighting that twisted line of circular reasoning.  Via BB:

“Main Street is justifiably concerned today about the sustainability of the modest recovery that’s been under way now for six quarters, the persistence of high unemployment and the specter of inflation,” Lockhart said today in a speech in Anniston, Alabama.


Such concerns are “a heavy weight of apprehension holding back business investment, hiring, consumption, to some extent, and -- taken together -- the growth rate of the economy,” he said.

Lockhart said unemployment remains a top concern and job growth has been “frustratingly slow.”

“Improvement in the labor market has lagged broader economic recovery,” Lockhart said to the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce. “I expect the unemployment rate to fall over the coming years, but I think it unlikely that jobs growth this year will be strong enough to generate quick improvement.”