recession – n.
January 19, 2008
The gerund of the verb to recede. The most common usage today is in reference to the current state of the economy. I.E. ‘7 out 0f 10 people think we’re in a recession.’ Well 7 out of 10 people are ignorant. There is a specific definiton of a recession:
Definition: two consecutive quarters of falling real gross national product.
I.E. when the economy RECEDES in two consecutive quarters. 6 months of declining GDP. GDP is not declining. It is not even stagnant. It is growing. It is not growing as fast as it was when it was buoyed by unsustainable consumer spending fueled by ridiculously lax credit standards, but it is still growing. And we may well enter into a recession during 2008, but WE ARE NOT IN ONE NOW. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn’t know jack-shit about economics.
