Recession denialists seized on third-quarter economic data showing GDP increased by 2.6 percent, averting an endemic case of cognitive dissonance that would be required to explain how three consecutive quarters of negative growth couldn’t mean recession. Unfortunately the latest report suggests the American economy is in a more dire state than is being acknowledged by the current political leadership. The positive economic growth of 2.6 percent is due largely to a spike in net exports which added 2.77 percentage points to the third-quarter results. The US trade deficit declined, but the actual number of exports remained steady, indicating that Americans are reducing their spending on overseas products while the rest of the world continues to consume American products.*