{"id":1579825,"date":"2022-07-29T19:40:06","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T23:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1579825"},"modified":"2022-07-29T19:40:27","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T23:40:27","slug":"white-house-continues-pushback-against-recession-fears-as-americans-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-continues-pushback-against-recession-fears-as-americans-struggle\/","title":{"rendered":"White House Continues Pushback Against Recession Fears As Americans Struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhite-house-continues-pushback-against-recession-fears-as-americans-struggle%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1579825&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The White House spent days prepping for negative news on the economy and trying to push back on one of the unofficial definitions of a recession.\u00a0When that news inevitably arrived on Thursday morning, the panic continued, with administration officials doubling down on their declaration that the U.S. is not currently in a recession.<\/p>\n<p>Thursday\u2019s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bea.gov\/data\/gdp\/gross-domestic-product\">report<\/a> indicated that the economy shrank 0.9%, marking a second straight quarter of decline and meeting one of the most common, though not the only, definitions of a recession.<\/p>\n<p>In the days leading up to the report, White House officials sprang into action, going on networks and telling the nation that the economy is still strong and there\u2019s no indication of a recession.<\/p>\n<p>White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, for one, spent the week fielding questions on the topic from the press. Throughout the week, she repeatedly <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/townhallcom\/status\/1552396246454779906?s=20&#038;t=f79HIKVmdlCi1KKD627fnA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">declared<\/a> that a second straight quarter of decline is \u201cnot the definition\u201d of a recession. At the same time, she <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/07\/25\/reporter-kaitlan-collins-karine-jean-pierre-definition-recession\/\">declined to detail<\/a>\u00a0the administration\u2019s official definition, only noting that they rely on \u201cindicators\u201d used by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).<\/p>\n<p>The NBER is an independent group of economists who investigate and give analyses on \u201cmajor economic issues,\u201d according to the non-profit\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nber.org\/about-nber\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Brian Deese, the\u00a0Director of the National Economic Council, also came out swinging in an effort to try and quell recession fears. He <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/07\/25\/white-house-brian-deese-definition-recession-america-gdp\/\">appeared<\/a> on CNN on Monday and also argued that the incoming GDP report would not indicate a recession, highlighting the jobs created under President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever in the history of our country have we had a recession where the economy was creating jobs, period,\u201d Deese told the network.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCertainly in terms of the technical definition it\u2019s not a recession,\u201d he added. \u201cThe technical definition considers a much broader spectrum of data points. But in practical terms, what matters to the American people is whether they have a little economic breathing room, they have more job opportunities, their wages are going up \u2014 that has been Joe Biden\u2019s focus since coming into office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the White House Council of Economic Advisers put out a blog post on July 21 declaring \u201cthat two consecutive quarters of falling real GDP\u201d does not equal a recession.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile some maintain that two consecutive quarters of falling real GDP constitute a recession, that is neither the official definition nor the way economists evaluate the state of the business cycle,\u201d the council <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/cea\/written-materials\/2022\/07\/21\/how-do-economists-determine-whether-the-economy-is-in-a-recession\/\">wrote<\/a>. \u201cRecession probabilities are never zero, but trends in the data through the first half of this year used to determine a recession are not indicating a downturn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen got in on the action, too, repeating the White House talking point that two quarters in a row of declining GDP isn\u2019t the definition of a recession. She told NBC\u2019s Chuck Todd <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2022\/07\/24\/icymi-treasury-secretary-yellen-says-us-economy-not-in-recession\/\">on Sunday<\/a> that this is \u201cnot the technical definition\u201d and later said she\u2019d be \u201camazed if they [NBER] would declare this period to be a recession.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7488817\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7488817\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7488817\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-28T195054Z_61628949_RC26LV9DB99I_RTRMADP_3_USA-BIDEN-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen listens as U.S. President Joe Biden receives an update on economic conditions in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building&#039;s South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 28, 2022. REUTERS\/Elizabeth Frantz\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-28T195054Z_61628949_RC26LV9DB99I_RTRMADP_3_USA-BIDEN-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-28T195054Z_61628949_RC26LV9DB99I_RTRMADP_3_USA-BIDEN-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-28T195054Z_61628949_RC26LV9DB99I_RTRMADP_3_USA-BIDEN-620x413-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-28T195054Z_61628949_RC26LV9DB99I_RTRMADP_3_USA-BIDEN-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-28T195054Z_61628949_RC26LV9DB99I_RTRMADP_3_USA-BIDEN-1536x1024-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-28T195054Z_61628949_RC26LV9DB99I_RTRMADP_3_USA-BIDEN-2048x1365-1.jpg 2048w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7488817\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen listens as U.S. President Joe Biden receives an update on economic conditions in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building\u2019s South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 28, 2022. REUTERS\/Elizabeth Frantz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The doubling down continued after the release of Thursday\u2019s report. Biden issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/07\/28\/joe-biden-united-states-right-path-transition-fears-recession\/\">statement<\/a> proclaiming that, despite the data, the U.S. is \u201con the right path.\u201d He suggested the economy slowing down is \u201cno surprise\u201d because the Federal Reserve was making moves \u201cto bring down inflation\u201d and because of \u201clast year\u2019s historic economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word recession was notably absent in the president\u2019s statement, and the president would <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/07\/28\/biden-economy-recession-gdp\/\">later<\/a> expand on his argument during remarks to the nation.<\/p>\n<p>White House Economic Adviser Jared Bernstein echoed Biden\u2019s positive spin during an appearance on Fox News just hours after the GDP report came out. Bernstein told the network that the administration had not tried to get ahead of Thursday\u2019s data earlier in the week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s a statement of the way these measures are scored by the group that decides whether we\u2019re in a recession or not \u2026 Secretary Yellen is correct,\u201d Bernstein <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/white-house-economist-insists-data-inconsistent-recession-despite-second-quarter-negative-gdp\">said<\/a>, referring back to one of Yellen\u2019s arguments that a recession is not \u201cinevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re adding 1.2 million jobs in a quarter, over 2 million in the first half of the year, it\u2019s simply inconsistent with a recessionary call,\u201d Bernstein continued.<\/p>\n<p>Economists who spoke to The Daily Caller noted that two straight quarters of decline has become an unofficial indication of a recession, though there\u2019s some debate on whether the U.S. is now in a recession.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the White House\u2019s argument is a little weak. The issue, the definition of a recession \u2014 while it\u2019s not completely set in stone \u2014 it\u2019s pretty well recognized that if you have a situation where you have two or more quarters of a decrease in economic output, that that pretty much is what the signal of a recession is,\u201d Steve Pociask, president and CEO of the American Consumer Institute (ACI), told the Daily Caller.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll economists should be comfortable with the basic statistic benchmark that two negative quarters is a signal for a recession,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Pociask brought up the administration\u2019s argument, explaining that NBER economists will \u201cget together\u201d to \u201ccome up with what the exact starting point of a recession would be and when it would end.\u201d Because of this, he said the \u201cofficial start date of this recession\u201d will remain unknown for a few more months.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a weak argument they\u2019re [the White House] making. Virtually all economists would say, \u2018Hey, it\u2019s too negative quarters, so that\u2019s kind of where we are.\u2019 \u2026 It\u2019s just a very weak argument that they\u2019re making,\u201d Pociask said, later noting that there is \u201ca teeny bit of wiggle room\u201d in the current argument.<\/p>\n<p>Brian Riedl, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manhattan-institute.org\/expert\/brian-riedl\">senior fellow<\/a> focused in part on economic policy at the Manhattan Institute, told the Caller that \u201cof course\u201d the White House will argue that the country isn\u2019t in a recession. Riedl continued on to back the administration\u2019s viewpoint, saying he believes we are \u201cprobably not in a recession right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGDP is down very slightly, but other economic indicators such as jobs continue to be strong, and that probably does not meet the technical definition of a recession. Furthermore, there is a chance that GDP growth could be revised upward into positive territory at some point in the next couple of months,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think conservatives have a point to be frustrated by the debate, because I do think if this were a Republican president, there\u2019s no way they would be given the benefit of the doubt. The media would be screaming recession right now if this were a Republican president, even if technically it\u2019s not,\u201d Riedl said.<\/p>\n<p>While Riedl explained to the Caller why he doesn\u2019t see the country as currently being in a recession, he also noted that t<span>wo quarters of negative decline is \u201cthe shorthand definition\u201d of a recession.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, however, many of the economists the Daily Caller spoke with felt the argument of whether the country is officially in a recession or not should not be the main focus. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/07\/28\/economists-stop-debating-recession-fix-it\/\">(RELATED:\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/07\/28\/economists-stop-debating-recession-fix-it\/\">Are We In A Recession? It Doesn\u2019t Matter To Americans Who Are Hurting, Economists Say)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether or not we\u2019re technically in a recession is really secondary to the fact that real wages have fallen 3.6%, people with fixed incomes have been hit with 9.1% inflation eating away at their wealth and people are really struggling. Whether it\u2019s technically a recession or not is really just kind of a messaging argument,\u201d Riedl said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can call it a recession, you can call it not a recession, it doesn\u2019t change the fact that groceries, electricity, gas, airline flights, everything is so much more expensive \u2026 and families are clearly falling behind and their wages aren\u2019t keeping up,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Pociask echoed this point of view, noting that he can \u201csee\u201d the administration\u2019s argument but that it should not be something the White House leads with.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just completely insensitive to the fact that what consumers care about right now is inflation \u2026 even the recent decline of 50 cents or so with gasoline, that\u2019s not going to be enough to stop the spiral,\u201d Pociask said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The White House spent days prepping for negative news on the economy and trying to push back on one of the unofficial definitions of a recession.\u00a0When that news inevitably arrived<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1579825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1579825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1579825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1579825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1579825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}