Recently, we reported that the Biden White House issued a statement regarding the definition of a recession, arguing that the traditional definition of two-quarters of negative Gross Domestic Product growth needed revision.
“While some maintain that two consecutive quarters of falling real GDP constitute a recession, that is neither the official definition nor the way economists evaluate the state of the business cycle. Instead, both official determinations of recessions and economists’ assessment of economic activity are based on a holistic look at the data—including the labor market, consumer and business spending, industrial production, and incomes. Based on these data, it is unlikely that the decline in GDP in the first quarter of this year—even if followed by another GDP decline in the second quarter—indicates a recession.”
Rightfully, many of the talking heads on social media responded with their usual degree of sarcasm:
It's not a recession unless it's from the Recession region of France otherwise it's just sparkling misery
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) July 25, 2022
We're about to see just how much the media is over Biden. If they go along with the Biden Administration's redefinition of what a recession is after four decades of holding it as 2 quarters of negative growth, the press is dead, and only the propagandists remain.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) July 25, 2022
Apparently The White House is changing the definition of recession this week so we can pretend that we’re not in one.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 25, 2022
Republican National Committee spokesperson Will O’Grady told FOX Business that “redefining” what a recession is won’t fix some of the legislative actions that Democrats have taken.
“Joe Biden turned a recovery into a likely recession. Redefining the word will not fix the fact that Democrats wasted $1.9 trillion, resulting in skyrocketing costs for Americans. This further underscores how out of touch Biden and Democrats are with the pain families are feeling,” O’Grady said.
While the White House seems to be actively denying that America is in a recession right now by attempting to change the definition of what a recession is, Northern Virginia residents believe differently, as they told Fox News that the U.S. is heading towards a recession, if it’s not already in one.
“I think we’re in a recession,” Lawrence, a 70-year Alexandria resident, told Fox News. “Interest rates have gone up, the economy seems to be slowing down, the price of cars is unreal.”
Lauren, also from Alexandria, said: “Absolutely, we’re in a recession. Have you checked gas prices lately? Have you checked the interest rates?”
The Bureau of Economic Analysis is set to release data Thursday that could indicate whether the U.S. is in a recession. In the first quarter of 2022, the bureau said the U.S. gross domestic product fell by 1.4%.
Workers’ wages were rising early this year, but have since slowed, according to the Department of Labor.
“I believe we are in a recession, and unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve ever really recovered from the last recession,” Parris, a woman from Northern Virginia, said.
“At this point, I think is going to get worse because prices are going up, and employment pay is not going up as fast as prices is,” Parris told Fox News. “So it’s going to be a lot more people being hurt by what’s happening.”
The feel from the Virginians interviewed, which can be watched here, was that a lack of leadership from Biden’s White House was a key factor in their feeling on the economy.
“I think the leadership is very poor,” Parris said. “The rich will continue to be rich and the poor will continue to get poor.”