U.S. economy is reaching a crossroads

The latest revision of third quarter GDP finds the U.S. economy growing even faster than we’d thought this summer — 3.1 percent.

The good news, according to Diane Swonk, chief economist as Mesirow Financial, is that consumers spent more than initially estimated last month, and there was more housing activity.

There is a downside as well, she adds.

“Investment — that backbone of our future growth — actually declined,” explains Swonk. That means the underlying growth pattern going into the fourth quarter is fairly weak.

“We’re at a fork in the road,” she adds. “We could be going on a much stronger path, but that all depends on fiscal policy and the fiscal debate that’s playing out right now in Washington.”