Some great charts from economist John Taylor putting the weak economic recovery in some deep historical perspective. First, here is the three-year old Obama recovery. As Taylor points out, “The gap between real GDP and potential GDP (CBO estimates) is not closing at all. That is the main reason why unemployment remains so high.” It’s just not getting better:

Finally, here is the Depression of 1893:

No Federal Reserve stimulus. No $800 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. And yet, 100 years ago, the U.S. economy somehow managed to recover after two nasty downturns, each marked by a banking crisis.

Maybe we’re not doing it right.