By basing the whole "recovery" argument on fraudulent data, the Fed and Federal Government have backed themselves into a corner.

After all, anyone with a functioning brain knows that the unemployment data, and, GDP growth data are massaged at best and totally bogus at worst. By using these data points as bricks to build the argument that somehow spending $4 trillion in newly printed money (and issuing $11 trillion in new debt) was needed only reinforces one of two things:

1)   None of the people in charge of steering the economy have a clue what they're doing …

Or…

2)   The whole thing was in fact a giant lie used to cover up the fact that none of the money was spent to try and generate economic growth.

How do we know the US is not in recovery? It's really quite simple. If it were, the Fed wouldn't have any issue with raising rates. Take a look at the below chart. Every other recession going back to 1954 saw rates begin to rise a few years into the recovery.

Here's our latest "recovery." We are now five to six years into it and rates are effectively at zero. The old adage says "actions speak louder than words." You could literally skip all of the Fed FOMC minutes, speeches, and Q&A sessions. The below chart is exponentially louder than anything Yellen or the other Fed leaders could say.