The U.S. Economy Is Recovering Too Slowly From the Last Recession November 13, 2014 Andrew Lundeen Kyle Pomerleau Andrew Lundeen, Kyle Pomerleau The global financial crisis dramatically harmed the U.S. economy, reducing overall output by $455 billion in real terms. Typically after recessions, the economy quickly recovers. However, this recovery has not been quick. While the U.S. economy has been growing for the past couple of years, it has been slow—too slow to fully recover from the crisis. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the U.S. economy will permanently remain below the pre-recession trend. This permanent gap due to the recession means that the economy will still be $4.5 trillion below its previous trend by 2020. For more charts like this, please see our new chart book, Business in America: Illustrated. Stay informed on the tax policies impacting you. Subscribe to get insights from our trusted experts delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe Share Tweet Share Email Topics Center for Federal Tax Policy Tags Putting a Face on America's Tax Returns