Is the US economy in a recession?

If you can not tell that we are in a recession or worse then you need
a brain transplant. Oops, no! Not with Bush’s brain!

I some times wonder at the ignorance of politicians and wall street business men. With rampant inflation (obvious to anyone who goes shopping), fuel prices doubled in the last 3 years, and jobs vanishing from the USA, how can there be any doubt? It appears that the only people who don’t know we are in recession are the people who should have warned us and taken action to control or prevent the recession. The only question now is whether we will enter another depression.

What’s new about this recession? Nothing!!

Whenever we are approaching an election where the liberals want to regain control they talk us into a recession. This began more than a year ago and it has finaly worked. If a democrat gets elected, taxes wil rise and the recession will get much worse and it will all be Bush’s fault. If a republican gets elected and tax cuts made permanent, the problems recession will mysteriously disappear (i.e. liberal media will quit talking about it).

This “recession’ happens almost every time we get close to an election where liberals want to regain power from conservatives. However, there’s always enouh young or clueless voters to give the often used and rarely true scare tactic of the left legitimacy.

Slowing growth does not a recession make. Exports continue to increase.

The teh economy is not in a recession as of yet. If Greenspan had down his job properly in the first place like stopping the two bubbles that occurred or started on his watch of overvalued stocks and commodities, he could have changed the margin rates, i.e., cash needed to purchase a futures contracts and curtail the rush into hedge fund speculation, the flop in the American Dollar and not save Long Term Capital Management’s by selling it to some Wall Street Investment Banks for their benefit to name a few issues. Congress’ more interested in the 2008 election than tending to business or their general incompetence in economic issues and governance with all these free trade agrements floating about over the last eight years. NAFTA is no bargin for the American people either.

Yes we are in a recession. Even using the narrow technical definition of recession which is two consecutive quarters of zero or negative growth in GDP, then of course we are in a recession. We have been in it for quite a while now, but the yardstick (dollar) we use to measure the economy has been shrinking.

The stock market has crashed in the last several years, but since it is valued in dollars we aren’t supposed to notice. In 2002 the euro was valued at $0.85, but the current rate is $1.56. Blame the ‘liberal’ media and young clueless voters if you want, but the facts show that this recession didn’t just start a year or so ago as a liberal election tactic.

The stronger argument is that because of widespread ignorance, many Economists, so-called conservatives, and Wall Street types have been able to deny the obvious with a straight face, at least for long enough to get their own money out of the US real estate and stock markets, into safe and tax free markets overseas. We are watching the large scale, organized looting of our country. I say let’s blame the Gays, the Mexicans, the Blacks, and Hollywood Liberals.

In 1929 the world entered the great depression. Under FDR, a lot of regulations were put in place to keep that from happening again. Every administration beginning with Reagon has been complicit in removing those regulations. Of course we are in a recession, or worse. Why is anybody surprised?

It really doesn’t matter what you call it - recession, slump, correction. Splitting hairs with definitions does not change the fact that the economy is in a big downturn. and most of us are feeling it. Is the glass half-empty or half-full? What difference does it make? Some big companies and people in high places allowed things to get to this point through their decisions and practices. Now, we are paying for it.

How can you say that we are in a recession? By definition to be in a recession the GDP must be negative for two consectutive quarter. This has not been the cast. As for unemployment being up, as I looked at these figures I saw the following: in Quarter III 2007 - 4.7; Quarter IV 2007 - 4.8; in the month of Jan 2008- 4.9; and lastly the month of Feb 2008 - 4.8. It does not appear to be much of a change. So where is the higher unemployment figures????? I am tired of all the hipe, during this election cycle which by the way occurs EVERY election cycle, about a bad economy. The economy alway has its ups and downs and it will always currect itself if left alone. So please those of you that report this information stop reporting misinformation.

The economy has been in a recession since 2000. The flurry of business activity in this decade which many called a “recovery” has now been revealed to be nothing but a shell game in which debt was passed around for profit while new value was never added.

To those self serving individuals espousing “recession” stop it. - Too many people are getting all worked up and beginning to believe you! It’s a matter of self fulfilling prophecy at work and who will benefit in the long run? Certainly not the average working person. Sure gas/oil prices are up - but so aren’t salaries - Gas was 1.20 gal in 1982 - I figure at that rate gas should be going for $5 /gal. The housing market will correct itself - because people have to live somewhere - Sure some bad loans were made but the system will absorb it (if allowed to) People should be encouraged to find their own financial solutions - rather than throw in the towel because of “recession” - a beast which is out everyone’s control.

You just hit a very raw nerve! You better believe it we’re in a recession. With our energy policy mishandled for 4 decades, it’s coming home to roost. Energy supply and demand is everything in a highly advanced technological society and culture. The total arrogance of refusing to build more nuclear power plants (just look at the rest of the world laughing at us while they have nukes in abundance), the refusal to drill and bring up our vast oil reserves off our coasts in the continental shelf (some very knowledgeable people believe those oil reserves are 10 times the middleast), refusal to drill anymore oil fields in Alaska (same response as the preceding), it’s just plain stupid. And why do we not drill for more oil and have many, many nuclear power plants? Because the majority or most influential in power do not want the U.S.A. to be viewed around the world as a domineering economic giant. So keep us dependent on the whims of OPEC and screw America into the ground.

In what part of the economy have prices not increased? The rules for government accounting practices are criminal when companies follow those same rules. The definition of a recession excludes anything that people really need. And then there’s our energy regulations. Prices will continue to go up and the regulations imposed by our state and federal governments are causing, not solving, the problem.

Government employees may not be in a recession, but I am.

Unemployment is an all time low. They took me off the unemployeed record after a few months of unemployment. So the unemployeed just don’t count.

Salaries are up if you average in the income of the Presidential Candidates.

Prices are down except for energy, food, and shelter. Walmart imports 83% of low value items from China.
Must I continue. Government employees enjoy full employment, guaranteed salary increases, and represent well over the 26% voting for unqualified good times ahead.

So you believe that we have been in a recession since 2000. Interesting that this is the same year that Bush was elected, hmm!!!
It is also interesting how the facts simply do not matter for you so called “engineers”, assuming you are engineers. As for the recession, how can there be a “shell” game going on when the unemployment numbers are so low, hmmm. This means that the economy has been and still is creating jobs. Which means that produceres are producing. I submit that if there was a “shell” game going on then these number would not be low. But again, facts seem not to matter! Now don’t get me wrong there are some sectors of our economy that are in a rough patch but it will currect itself as I said earlier if left alone.

By conventional economic definition we are not in a recession, far from it. We have yet to see a single quarter of negative economic growth. However, we are in an election year so many politicians want to over-state the economic problems to get themselves elected. The press and TV commentators are willing accomplices. It is a matter of perception. Those who suggest “depression” are really off-the-mark.

When you’re having economic problems, it might be a recession. When I’m having them, it’s a depression. When my pay is going up ahead of inflation, there are no problems, everything is going great. When my standard of living, along with a lot of people I know is going down, I’m part of an anomolous group that should be ignored, just the way the Federal Government doesn’t use increases in food, medical and energy costs in calculating the inflation rate.

Is employment so high because there are so many jobs available, or is it because there are so many people at the lower end of the economy working 2 or more jobs to maintain a basic survival income?

Are the numbers showing strong growth in the economy because everybody is making great incomes, or is it because of an upward shift in the calculation of averages because people at the mid to bottom levels have to put up with real reductions in pay and benefits so that the people in the upper 20% can make almost double digit increases?

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