How can you tell when history is being made?
As part of one of the things I do in my “other” life, I receive periodic “Stylebook” updates from the Associated Press. My editors want me to use specific spellings, abbreviations, word meanings and so forth. It’s usually as dull as dishwater and totally non-political. Today, I got one that is actually worth mentioning:
Editor’s Note: An entry on Great Recession has been added.
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Great Recession
The recession that began in December 2007 and became the longest and deepest since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It occurred after losses on subprime mortgages battered the U.S. housing market.
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For my part, I’ve been trying to popularize a different name for the current troubles: “The Bush Depression“. But when the AP Stylebook gives something a name, you can pretty much bank on that being the name. (Or, perhaps the phrase “bank on” is inappropriate these days too.) It’s gotta be milestone in our unfolding history!
The New York Times had a piece a few months ago about why people use the word “recession” today instead of the word “depression”. Before the “Great Depression” of the 1930s, any downturn in economic activity was referred to as a depression. People started to use the word “recession” simply because “depression” was too scary after 1930. Carter tried to use the difference in the words as a campaign issue when he ran against Reagan. Reagan, who knew how to whip a mob into a frenzy, was using the word “depression” to describe the relatively mild downturn at that time to scare the voters. Carter, with more measured accuracy, pointed out that Reagan’s facts were all wrong. The voters demonstrated again that they don’t care about facts. They care about simple, easy answers, right or wrong.
The AP’s name will stick for another reason. According to Newsweek, “Harvey Pitt, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and CEO of the global consulting firm Kalorama Partners, says there is another reason why the process by which a recession is defined will likely go unchanged. ‘It’s fairly elastic, because it has enormous economic as well as political consequences,’ he says. ‘Whoever is running the government at any particular time wants to avoid people drawing the conclusion that economic stagnation is a recession.’”
Liars, Damn Liars, and government bureacrats.
As I have said before on this blog –
Economic Downturn — when your neighbor loses his job
Recession — when you lose your job
Depression — when your wife loses her job
Ronald Reagan is generally given credit for that little story. He used it to change the subject when Carter pointed out the flaws in Reagan’s facts. It’s an excellent example of how showmanship overcame reason.
An article of faith for most right-wingers is that Carter was responsible for the recession of 1982 and Reagan’s tax cuts brought us out. In fact, Carter’s policies were starting to take effect as Reagan took office. Reagan was responsible for the worst budget deficits ever seen up to that point, however. Here’s a summary of the facts:
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-recession1982.htm