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Since the Biden administration attempted to redefine a recession ahead of this week’s economic contraction news, multiple media outlets have picked up the talking points from the White House. Now there are individual journalists who are abandoning the traditional definition they used to support.
The Commerce Department said this week that the U.S. economy has suffered two straight quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth, which has long been the measure of a recession, but many Biden officials have claimed that only the National Bureau of Economic Research Cycle Dating Committee can determine if the US economy is in recession based on a number of factors that can be found several months or even a year after the recession actually started.
Politico’s chief economic correspondent Ben White supplemented his report Thursday, claiming the new data would “provide Republicans with an enticing opportunity to state that the economy is now in recession under President Joe Biden.” “
“The Commerce Department’s report on GDP for the April-June period (0.9 percent) shows a 1.6 percent contraction in the first quarter and is far from the only indicator of an economic slowdown. This number is an initial estimate and is subject to change in the future,” White wrote. “But Republicans are willing to put aside all economic formalities and toss Democratic candidates back and forth in the midterm in an economy already unpopular with voters from both parties.”
Biden’s talking points in the White House are redefining the recession, which was quickly picked up by the media
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 18: Ben White, Chief Business Correspondent speaks at the 2017 Concordia Annual Summit at Grand Hyatt New York on September 18, 2017 in Politico, New York City. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for the Concordia Summit) (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
On the eve of the economic report, White offered a defense of the Biden administration, tweeting, “The White House is absolutely right that even a two-quarter contraction in GDP will not show the economy is currently in recession.”
Except that White wasn’t thinking of himself last month when he wrote in the Politico newsletter: “I regret to say that the conditions are ripe for a contraction in GDP growth lasting at least two quarters, a recession. “ technical definition of
Politico declares Biden ‘back in the game’ as US enters recession
Additionally, in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, White tweeted, “IHS cuts Q1 growth to -2.1%, others also turn negative. The second quarter will be double-digit decline. That means we are in a recession right now.”
Responding to critics Thursday, White said his original analysis was “a bad tweet a while ago” and that he “should have known better then”.
White’s newfound explainer explained what the recession is, and his defense of the Biden administration was acknowledged by MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle, who tweeted, “Good read, thanks.”
In addition to supporting the White House spin, Ruhle underestimated poor financial conditions and insisted the US had a “complex economy” rather than a “bad one”.
NBC business analyst says economy is ‘complicated’, not ‘bad’
But in 2019, the NBC business analyst was able to offer a simpler definition of recession.
“The recession is the economic downturn for two consecutive quarters,” Ruhle told then-MSNBC host Brian Williams.
MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle argued that the current economy is “complicated” rather than good or bad. (Photo by Diya Dipasupil/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)
CNN White House correspondent John Harwood has seen plenty of people reject the “technical” definition of recession.
In addition to Ben White’s tweet, Harwood shared a tweet from New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who wrote, “Many news reports say we’ve entered a ‘technological recession’ – one that doesn’t exist. here is [Goldman Sachs]: “The official definition of a recession is a judgmental mix of levels and rates of change of several variables, most of which continued to widen in the first half of the year.”
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He shared another from economist Mark Zandi, who tweeted: “Despite two consecutive quarterly GDP declines, there was no recession in the first half of the year, but it looks increasingly difficult to avoid a recession in the coming year.” Also, Mark Goldwain of the committee on Responsible Federal Budget who wrote: “1) No, 2 quarters of negative economic growth does not mean we are in a recession. 2) Just because we’re not in a recession doesn’t mean the economy is doing very well – it’s not.”
CNN White House correspondent John Harwood went viral for a 2019 tweet that read, “Recession = economy shrinks by two quarters.” (Getty Images)
However, Harwood himself tweeted in 2019: “By the way, it’s not possible to have a recession for just two months = the economy shrinks for two quarters.”
Paul Krugman insists “we’re not going into a recession” after wrongly dismissing inflation concerns
He went even further, telling CNN’s Don Lemon in March 2020, “Even if we don’t have two consecutive quarters of negative growth, we may have a quarter of growth deep enough to be categorized as a recession.” “
Earlier in the week, the Associated Press ran an EXPLAINER on how to know when a recession has started, telling readers: “By the common definition, the US economy is on the brink of recession. But the definition is not important.”
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“On Thursday, when the government forecast GDP for the April-June period, some economists believe it could show the economy has contracted for a second straight quarter. Will live up to the notion of yesteryear,” AP reporter Christopher Ragber wrote Monday. “But economists say that doesn’t mean a recession has started. In the same six months that the economy may have contracted, businesses and other employers added 2.7 million jobs — added in all of the years leading up to the pandemic. ”
But in January 2022, the AP was quick to declare a recession for the country of Mexico: “Mexico’s economy entered a technical recession late last year with two straight quarters of contraction.”
Joseph A. Wolfson is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story suggestions can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.
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