...doesn't seem to be the economy we want.

Economic mythbusting:

At some point over the last seven years, you have probably heard someone — a friend, a business executive, the president of the United States — say that the Sept. 11 attacks sent the American economy into a slump. It’s an understandable enough notion, given that the attacks occurred in 2001 and a recession began that same year.

But it’s simply incorrect. The economy started shrinking in March 2001, largely because of the hangover from the technology bust. The attacks did cause a sharp drop in the stock market, but if you were to go back and look at, say, the quarterly numbers on consumer spending, you wouldn’t even know anything horrific had happened in September. By November, the economy was growing again.

Of course, where the economy is now is the sad story.  The hardest part of being so far down in the gutter is realizing that it's going to get better - somehow.

But, hey, at least we're using our stimulus checks!