Say Anything Blog

A Recession is classically defined as two or more consecutive quarters of Economic contraction.  The end of the recession (and beginning of the recovery) is marked, again classically, by the first quarter of Economic growth.

Thus in the classical definition, both the beginning and the end of recessions are determined time late and are objectively quantifiable.

Comes now The One to Change our Expectations:

Our Lowered Economic Expectations
The stock market reaches an old milestone and the unemployment rate is below 10%. In Obama’s America, that’s worthy of celebration.
By Tristan Yates
PajamasMedia

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently reached 10,000 again, rising 50% since March and reclaiming a major market milestone. September job losses were also less than expected, keeping unemployment under 10%. Moody’s, Google, and even the New York Times say the recession is over.

Ah yes, the tired gray crone which has called six of the last one recessions is an excellent source for such a call…

That means mission accomplished, right? Surely President Obama deserves the Nobel Prize in economics too, or at least a day off from the never-ending criticism spewing forth from far-right outfits like the Atlantic and U.S. News and World Report.

Unfortunately, as usual, reality has to intrude on this president and his cheerleaders. In fact, the DJIA closed over 9,000 on January 2. Then the president came into office, passed the so-called stimulus, and immediately attacked the finance, energy, tourism, health care, and automotive industries — and where did the Dow go? It went to 6,500 by March.

Calling this recession ended now is, to say the very least, premature.

Personally, it feels a lot like 1977 to me.