Bruce Yandle’s state of the economy

Economist Bruce Yandle’s view is that the U-S economy is stumbling and slow, yet somewhat stronger. And the Dean Emeritus of Clemson ‘s College of Business and Behavorial Science sees optimistic signs that point to an expansion of the economy, from the depths it fell during the last recession. Those signs include the pickup trucks he sees pulling into Bountyland Quik Stop and every time he sees and hears a freight train pass his home. As Yandle told today’s Oconee Alliance meeting, pickup trucks driven by workers on their way to contruction and other jobs bode well for the local economy. From Yandle’s home at Clemson, the trains that pass rattle his windows. But the economist does not mind. Because every time he sees rail cars, he takes strength in knowing they are full of manufactured goods on their way to paying customers. Not once at today’s meeting did Yandle use the word robust to describe the recovery and expansion from the end of the great recession. Yandle says banks are holding $1.4 trillion in reserves, much of which is required to be held to keep banks stable. Bankers, he said, aren’t going to smile until the lines of would-be lenders are credit-worthy. And that’s a term whose meaning has changed since the recession.