Much of nation's recent growth may have been a mirage

By Steven Pearlstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 1, 2011; 9:20 PM

Last weekend, I was invited to sit in on an unusual retreat attended by top political, business, labor and civic leaders in Massachusetts. Although that state is in better economic shape than most others, it is facing most of the the same problems - anemic job growth, looming budget crises for state and local governments, widening inequality of incomes and educational achievement. The purpose of the gathering was to create a sufficient sense of urgency about those problems to overcome the inertia, political squabbling and special-interest lobbying that inevitably stand in the way of doing something.

For full story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020106617.html