"Double Dip" recession my ass

[Cyrano]

Politicians on tonight's news are talking about a double dip recession.

For those who don't know, a double dip recession is a recovering recession that falls back down again. (On a graph, it would look like a camel with two humps.)

Perhaps Wall Street is experiencing this particular camel, but for all of us "little people," (as the CEO of BP referred to us) the first dip never ended. We're in a valley of hurt, and congress just failed to pass any further unemployment benefits, or any help of any kind. ("Let them get off their lazy asses and go to work.")

If you're one of the "little people," do yourself a favor. The next time someone who hasn't been hit by the recession uses the term "double dip recession," spit on him/her.

And one final thought. Can anyone tell me the real world difference between a recession and a depression?

[PBS Poll-435]

1. Sounds Painful. nt

[grantcart]

2. a recession is what happens to somebody else a depression is when you get laid off

[Journeyman]

3. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression occurs when you do. . .

[mkultra]

4. depressions are substantial and sustained

UE is at 9.3% and slowly falling. GDP is still positive. IM a little guy and im not feeling any effect of the recession. I have had fear of losing my job. but really that's all.

[Moondog]

5. To pick

nits, the chart generally resembles a "W". Which is pretty ironic.

And the BP bozo used the term "small people", not "little people". Which, in my view, was even worse. Yeah, I know the asshole doesn't speak English as a first language, but fuck him, I don't care.

The difference between a recession and a depression is best thought of as a sine wave. It is a matter of amplitude and duration. Yeah, I know, that doesn't help. You could look it up. But for now, a depression is worse.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

11. At least that's better than Alan Simpson

referring to us as "lesser people."

http://www.mediaite.com/online/republican-deficit-commission-chair-alan-simpsons-lesser-people-gaffe-flies-under-the-radar/

[BeatleBoot]

6. Recession vs. Depression?

Chicago vs. Detroit.


Back to mowing my lawn....

In Detroit.

[Cary]

7. Recession is a euphemism for depression. . .

which was a euphemism for what used to be called a panic.

[skeptical cynic]

8. A depression is when

the ruling class are suffering along with the workers.

In a recession, only workers suffer.

[Curmudgeoness]

10. You are right on the money. No need for technical definitions.

I was going to attempt to explain the difference with the economics definitions, but this is better. (And just so you know, it is possible that statistics are being manipulated or the markets are being manipulated to keep this "event" from being classified as a---gasp---depression.)

[RKP5637]

9. "... difference between a recession and a depression?" IMO it's relative, it

depends on whom is experiencing it... A recession to a wealthy person well might be a depression for the little guy, for whom it might be long and sustained. I would find it difficult for anyone employed to tell someone now unemployed for a long time through no fault of their own that oh, this is just a recession. For the latter it is a damn depression. We are a la la land country whose failure as a democracy and as a country will be chronicled in history books of the future unless Texas rewrites them.

BTW- when is the last time any politician asked you for your input on anything... other than to get your vote... and then often do what they damn well please.

I have friends who used to be employed at over $100K now working for just above minimum wage, underemployed, through no fault of their own. They are living in a depression. But oh, they are counted in our F'ed up metrics as happily employed. The BS is so thick in this country it's deplorable. It's the land of smoke and mirrors, and the ignorant and gullible.

[unblock]

12. from an economist's point of view, there's no such distinction.

they're all "contractions".

what lay people call the "great depression", economists call the "great contraction" and date it only from 1929-1933 because the economy was growing like gangbusters after that (except for a comparatively short contraction in 1938.

as usual, just because an economy is "expanding" doesn't mean it has expanded enough to recover from the huge contraction that preceded it.

[Safetykitten]

13. They did not know they were in one for a while, the last time

http://www.businessinsider.com/clips-from-great-depression-2010-6

[Festivito]

14. Recession was applied because the great depression was still remembered.

Now the old ones are mostly dead. Now the use of recession is entrenched.

The difference is whether or not the rich must suffer a strong Democrat in order to have the problem fixed -- such as Daddy Warbucks having to endure FDR's fixes around 1933.

[Taitertots]

15. The double dip will come if there is a collapse in commercial real estate

Which is very likely given the current conditions. The double dip doesn't necessarily mean there was a recovery before the second large drop.


Are you going to let them spit back in your face if there is a second large drop?