America must return to growth   09/09/12 - 12:00am

Like a summer houseguest who outstays his welcome, the current economic climate just won’t leave.

That was the recent message when the Labor Department announced that the unemployment rate had ticked up to 8.3 percent. Just days earlier, the Commerce Department reported that America’s gross domestic product is growing at an annual rate of just 1.5 percent, as the debt crisis in Europe and looming end-of-year tax hikes continue to slow the recovery.