Paulson says economy in ‘sharp decline’

No word yet on whether Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will get a BushCo woodshed whipping for uttering the truth about the economy. Paulson didn’t actually use the “recession” word, but he is coming closer. Of course, he’s still in full-blown fluffer mode most of the time:

Paulson also appeared on ABC's “Good Morning America” where he claimed the Bush administration's $152-billion fiscal stimulus program could generate hundreds of thousands of jobs once tax rebate checks begin flowing in May.

Yeah, right. Housing starts dropped another six-tenths of a percent in February and building permit applications fell off 7.8 percent. The economy ain’t adding “hundreds of thousands of jobs” anytime soon.