“A recession is when you lose your job.
A depression is when I lose mine.”
Sidney Harris
Today will doubtlessly be a lesson in dismal economics, to wit, what is a recession? I believe the proper definition is two consecutive quarters of decline in the gross domestic product — or GDP — which sometimes means the recession is underway because reporting on things like the GDP tend to lag a while and are not calculated in real time. For the public, it’s a perception of the stock market. A few shrill headlines, the plunging line on the chart, the addition of the word “Black” to whatever day of the week it happens to be, and self-fulfilling chaos ensues. I’m not saying ignore the headlines, just pointing out that most of the people who write them have no idea what they are talking about.
Let us therefore endeavor to avoid depression…