The report is moderate -- it is not terrible. There is nothing wrong with the economy. What it confirms is that the economy is not out of control.

When the economy recovers, the last place you are going to see it is in the job numbers.

This is a view of the economy as we knew it; the world has changed a bit (since then). It's highly likely the Fed will pause for a while.

the long-run budget impact, despite all the screaming and hand-wringing about this...is really very small, very modest.

When you're an economist trained in conceptual stuff, you tend to be less intuitive. You fall back on this conceptual framework that the profession has invested a lot of time in.

There is a way they come to a conclusion, and it is your job to not constantly be picking fights with it,