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Biden Admin Redefines ‘Recession’ Amid Reports of Negative GDP Growth in Q2

The Biden administration seems to be trying to change the definition of “recession” amid unfavorable economic news

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As the U.S. economy is expected to experience a second consecutive quarter of GDP decline this week – previously the definition of a “recession” – the Biden administration is taking measures to redefine what exactly a “recession” means.

While most economists once accepted the notion that two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth is a defining part of a recession, the White House Council of Economic Advisors published a blog post that claims “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.”

Biden himself – speaking remotely due to his unfortunate COVID-19 diagnosis – advanced this claim today.

“We’re not gonna be in a recession in my view,” a visibly-ill Joe Biden told the White House press corp. “The [un]employment rate is still one of the lowest we’ve had in history, it’s in the 3.6 [percent] area. We still find ourselves with people investing. My hope is we go from this rapid growth to steady growth. So we’ll see some coming down. But I don’t think we’re going to, God willing, I don’t think we’re going to see a recession.”

“What is a recession? 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,” the Biden administration claimed.

The controversial WH blog post comes as administration officials take to cable television news programs to make similar assertions about the abysmal state of the U.S. economy.

During an appearance with CNN on Monday, WH economic advisor Brian Deese claimed, contrary to the opinions of experts, that two negative quarters of growth is “not a recession.”

“In terms of the technical terms of the definition, it’s not a recession. The technical definition considers a much broader spectrum of uh, data points,” said Deese.

“But in practical terms, what matters to the American people is whether they have a little economic breathing room, they have more job opportunities, their wages are going up. That has been Joe Biden’s focus since coming into office,” Deese said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who formerly headed the Federal Reserve, offered her own halting consternation that a recession could not necessarily be equated to two or more quarters of negative GDP growth.

The administration’s position is causing backlash among conservatives, who claim that they are simply moving the goalpost in an effort to hide the fact that the U.S. is in a recession.

“Apparently The White House is changing the definition of recession this week so we can pretend that we’re not in one,” tweeted Donald Trump Jr.

“Soviet-style propaganda from the Biden White House. Redefining recession is not a solution to get our country out of one,” tweeted Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).

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Andrew White is a Northern Virginia native. His work has been previously featured on Alex Jones’ Infowars, Revolver News, and The Liberty Daily. White is a constitutionalist Patriot, who focuses on social issues, election integrity, globalism, US politics, as well as general corporate and government corruption.

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