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Originally Posted by Derwood
Does one track recession via jobless rate (which has grown) or by National GDP (which is also up)?
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The concept of "recession" is subjective and only has meaning based on how it is commonly defined. It is not like knowing the boiling point of water. In 2008 before there was two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth we had some already saying the economy was in a "recession" based a a number of other economic indicators. And of course we had some politicians telling us that we were at the brink of economic Armageddon and others who knew better but lacked the courage to say our economy was fundamentally strong in-spite of some of the negative indicators.
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Not a loaded question; I have almost zero knowledge of economics, so I'm curious which is the more accepted methodology
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On a macro level all of this is meaningless to most people because the economy that affects us as individuals is more micro. The people in the city of Detroit live in a very different economy than the people in the state of Vermont. some people are thriving in this economy, while others are living in a economic catastrophe with no prospects. If I were President my #1 domestic focus would have been cutting taxes and creating jobs, not bailing out Wall Street and the auto industry.