Democracy Has Prevailed.

December 1, 2008

The SECOND Bush Recession

Here's a news Flash for those wingnuts who insist on calling it "The Obama Recession."

It started a year ago.
The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday. The NBER _ a private, nonprofit research organization _ said its group of academic economists who determine business cycles met and decided that the U.S. recession began last December.

By one benchmark, a recession occurs whenever the gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, declines for two consecutive quarters. The GDP turned negative in the July-September quarter of this year, and many economists believe it is falling in the current quarter at an even sharper rate.

But the NBER's dating committee uses broader and more precise measures, including employment data. In a news release, the group said its cycle dating committee held a telephone conference call on Friday and made the determination on when the recession began.

Here's the NBER's press release.

Yer doing a heckuva job, Dubya. Heckuva job. Two recessions in two administrations. Wow.

7 comments:

John K. said...

John K: Missed the point. The money began to move out of the stock market and has remained from the market the minute investors suspected Hussein Obama would be Prez. So when does Obama start taxing the rich. Or has that plan also been shelved? LMAO

John K. said...

John K: This is a heck of a recession. But that clearly explains why all those poor folks were storming the stores to buy those Ipods and Big screen TVs.

Clyde Wynant said...

John -

Please excuse people for trying to use their last few dollars to buy presents for this children and give them something resembling a "normal" Christmas, despite the fact that the GOP's policies over the last decade have bankrupted our country and drained our retirement accounts.

John K. said...

John K: So you favor parents buying electronic presents rather than bread in a depression?

John K. said...

John K: This is a heck of a recession. Crowds breaking down the doors of Best Buy and Wal Mart etc not to buy bread or other food staples but instead to buy electronic goods. My dad told stories about the depression. And he often told me how his Christmas present was an orange or an apple. So you left wingers have an odd view of recessionary times.

EdHeath said...

So, John K., you are saying there have not been real loses in people's retirement plans (401k's and such) in the last few months?

I think people are optimistic that Obama will get us out of this recession rapidly. I think they may be overly optimistic. But given what Friedman said about expectations and their effect on the economy, this may not be a entirely bad thing.

That’s funny, John K., what you said about people moving their money out of the market when they thought Obama would be elected President. I’m sure you have some source for that outright lie.

EdHeath said...

er, real losses, not loses. D'oh.