The Definition Of A Recession

The day was September 13th, 1998. It was a day when one of the simplest words in the English language, readily understood by those who command it (and even most who don’t), was called into question. It was the day we learned that Bill Clinton questioned what the definition of is, “is” to the grand jury investigating his affair with Monica Lewinsky and his potential perjury pertaining thereto. Quoting Clinton: It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is. If the—if he—if ‘is’ means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement. … Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true. All these years later that’s no less absurd than it was then. But nevertheless, it proved effective. He wasn’t called slick Willie for nothing. Perhaps that’s the reason the Biden administration is actively seeking to redefine what the definition of recession is. On Thursday, the second quarter GDP report will be released, and with it what almost certainly appears to be a 2nd consecutive quarter of negative economic growth. What’s literally the text-book definition of a recession.

Recession in the USA

Photo: Getty Images


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