The economy grew at 2.5% last quarter, up from 1.3% the quarter before, according to newly released data from the Commerce Department. That's just enough growth to keep from plunging more people into the ranks of the unemployed, but nowhere near enough to start digging us out of the hole we're in.

So sit back and enjoy economic limbo. While the growth number is mildly comforting, the other economic data released today is downright schizophrenic: Real disposable income dropped 1.7%, but consumer spending is up. None of it really matters, though, because these numbers will be wildly revised next quarter, when we discover that we've really been in a three-year depression.

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