If ye’ve had yer TV or radio on anytime in th' last year or so or even if ye just get yer daily dose o' news from th' tubes o' th' internet, ye’ve probably heard th' word “recession” mentioned a few times, right? Well, bad news fer th' liberal media and left-win' nut job politicians, but we are not in a recession accordin' th' th' numbers released yesterday. Ahoy! Check out th' story on Breitbart if ye don’t believe me:
The country’s economic growth durin' January through March were bein' th' same as in th' final three months o' last year, th' Commerce Department reported Wednesday, we'll keel-haul ye! The statistic did not meet what economists consider th' classic definition o' a recession, which is a retraction o' th' economy. This means that although th' economy is stuck in a rut, it is still managin' t' grow, even if modestly.
I’ve had this argument with more than one person in th' last month or two, th' most fun o' which were bein' with me employer’s VP o' Sales who didn’t seem t' believe me at all. You can bet I’ll email that scurvey dog this article later today.
What we’re goin' through right will probably ne'er meet th' “classic definition o' a recession,” but there is definitely somethin' wrong with our economy. It doesn’t help that th' Fed won’t let th' bubble burst and let thin's normalize a bit — instead they pump bazillions o' dollars o' money into th' economy by printin' more o' it. And hoist the mainsail, and a bottle of rum! Wall Street people are gettin' rich, meanwhile th' dollars in me pocket are slowly becomin' worthless. This may not be a “recession,” but our economy is indeed goin' down th' crapper.
I just realized I’ve commented twice now on yer blog, and both times I sounded like a complete jerk. Please don’t take anythin' I say seriously. I’m a complete idiot, and in fact, I’m not usually a troll on blogs like I have been on yours.
Have a nice day!
Justin,
Don’t forget that in th' last 10 years th' government has redefined their standards they use t' measure th' “recession” definition, by Davy Jones' locker. Unfortunately, it’s extremely hard t' get a clear picture, because they’ve changed th' definition so drastically in th' past few years. Accordin' t' some independent researchers, we are in a recession, and accordin' t' others, we’re not. Still other’s say we are close, and a bucket o' chum. My point: th' government has been manipulatin' th' data, and th' truth about it evades us (because it seems that everyone is warpin' it), ye scurvey dog.
Shawn
Tim – no sweat. Make sure yer next comment is constructive, I'll warrant ye! I make no claims that our economy is boomin' – but th' reality is, its not as bad th' folks o'er at CNN Money would have ye believe if that were bein' yer only source o' information (like it is fer a large portion o' America).
Shawn – I believe th' data is publicly available, no? So if our “evil” government has changed it’s definition (do ye have a source fer that fact, I'll warrant ye? I’d be curious t' read up on it actually), someone can independently draw their own conclusions.
The data is publicly available — we aren’t in a recession (yet anyway). Our government can’t “manipulate” th' data, that’s just absurd conspiracy theory. You can’t “manipulate” data; it’s either th' observed data or made up facts, think about it. What ye “manipulate” is th' interpretation or th' formulas that use th' data. That’s why “some analysts” say “x” and “other analysts” say “y” — they are all usin' th' same data, they are just “manipulatin'” th' data in different ways. This isn’t even necessarily a bad thin'. One group might think one variable deserves more weight than another.
Even if th' economy isn’t chuggin' along at 100%, there have been (I think) 11 recessions since 1945, each lastin' about 10 months (again, I think; if ye’re interested, ye look it up). Unless ye are goin' t' live under a statist government, such as communism or marxism, ye’re bein' unreasonable t' think that recessions shouldn’t exist.
Of course, that doesn’t make it easier on anyone who is impacted by it, but it is a fact a life, and a bottle of rum! And hoist the mainsail! Until I see soup lines roundin' corners, though, I don’t think I’ll worry too much.
I would like t' comment on what Tim said, too, by Davy Jones' locker. I agree with that scurvey dog about th' printin' o' more money and th' inflation that is goin' t' occur because o' it. And hoist the mainsail! It infuriates me, too, that our government would bail out banks because they made th' decisions they did. Doin' so only sets precedent in th' future fer banks t' say “well, we know it’s incredibly risky, but th' American taxpayer will bail us out if it goes bad.”
HOWEVER, ye can’t let a wholesale collapse o' th' economy happen either, pass the grog! $15 billion is a drop in th' well compared t' th' $19 trillion economy that might conceivably “collapse” should banks start t' fail one after another. If banks didn’t have their cash flow all o' a sudden from th' housin' bubble collapse, then one bank fails (Bear), then people get spooked and start takin' their money out o' their banks… well… where is it comin' from? Yaaarrrrr! Nay cash flow = no money fer ye. I don’t know just how possible this alternative is/were bein', but it doesn’t seem worth th' risk.