Where's the Economic Recovery?

So, school's back in session, but the economy, it seems, is not. The recession that brought a confetti burst of pink slips in the last year may have ended in the last month. But you'd hardly know it. Wall Street's summer rally has fizzled. The dollar is down, the trade deficit is way up.

Coming back from binge, bubble and bust is never easy. But so far, no one's found a story line, a persuasive theory of the case, that instills confidence in a return to robust economic health — or even stability.

Another terror attack lurks as a dispiriting possibility. And now, we've got a war to factor in. Armies ready to roll around the world's largest oil fields. A price tag for battle that may or may not pump up a wartime economic flush. Where's the economic recovery? And does war help, or hurt?

Guests:

Christian Weller, macro economist at The Economic Policy Instittute

David Leonhardt , economics writer for the New York Times