The WSJ details:

It looks as if, despite everything, gross domestic product picked up in the third quarter, easing fears that the U.S. was on the cusp of another recession. But that doesn’t mean the economy is anywhere near where it needs to be.

Economists expect Thursday’s GDP report from the Commerce Department will show the economy grew at a 2.7% annual rate in the third quarter. That would still leave economic output 6.7% below what the Congressional Budget Office estimates its potential is. In other words, in a world where employment and economic activity were as high as they could be without the economy running into inflationary trouble, the U.S. would be producing about $900 billion more in goods and services a year than it is now.

Experts quibble about exactly where potential GDP is these days, and that’s especially true in light of all the damage the economy has suffered.

As the last portion of the article outlines, experts quibble where potential GDP is these days. I (a non-expert) will outline an alternative way to project potential GDP... past performance. While past performance does not guarantee future performance for investments, it also does not guarantee where the economy should be today. That said, it does represent a growth rate that Americans and American systems (tax levels, spending, debt accumulation) were used to dealing with / expected.

Below is a chart outlining just that... real GDP going back to mid-1971, along with what real GDP would look like today if it grew at the 3.1% pace of growth it saw on average between June 1971 and June 2007. In addition, the yellow line is the difference between the two.



In this case, the differences implies current GDP is 11% below potential.



Source: BEA