Recent Articles
- Lylewood Inn to hold Christmas Open House
- The Tennessee Art League announces December exhibitions
- The Monocle, the 2008-09 APSU yearbook is now on sale
- Classism: How We Talk about Earnings
- Do you want Foreign Nuclear Waste in TN?
- Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate expands to Tennessee and Kentucky
- Govs set for third annual Glenn Wilkes Classic
- Tanner: Senate Action Is Step Toward Fort Campbell, Montgomery Co. VA Investments
- Humdrum Season Paves the Way
- Gifts Teachers Really Want for the Holidays
- Radio Talk Show Hosts vs. Common Sense: The Lost Article “Left vs. Right”
- Clarksville Foxes holding sign-ups on November 21st
- 9th Branch Now Open for Fort Campbell Federal Credit Union
- APSU Volleyball: Champine named OVC “Player of the Year,” three receive All-OVC recognition
- Christmas on the Cumberland opens November 24th
Official Sites
- City of Clarksville, TN
- Clarksville Department of Electricity
- Clarksville Gas and Water Department
- Clarksville Montgomery County School System
- Clarksville Police Department
- Clarksville, Montgomery County Economic Development Council
- Clarksville, TN Ordinances
- Fort Campbell, Ky
- Montgomery County, Tennessee
- Montgomery County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office
- Parks after Dark
It’s official: We are in a recession. Is anyone surprised?
The National Bureau of Economic Research announced today what Americans have known, or at least suspected, for the past year: the United States is in a recession. It’s official.The recession, according to the NBES, began in 2007, again, no earth-shattering news to many Americans.
The statement came even as the stock market, which had a rebound last week, tanked on the news, dropping 400 points by noon Monday and closing the day down by 680. With a public still reeling from months of soaring gas prices and the fallout of higher food and other retail items (due in part to exploding transportation costs), the reality of recession with or without documentation from a national bureau.
In making their determination on the state of American economy, the NBES examined records on jobs and job loss, real personal income, industrial production, and wholesale and retail sales. The last two recessions (1990-91 and 2001) both lasted less than a year.
Initial reports of “better than expected” holiday spending may not be an indicator of the true retail market this holiday season, since many shoppers who bought into the Black Fridayscenerio seemed to be after the sharply discounted big ticket items like computers and audio/visual equiment. One of the problems for retailers is that these items have been so steeply discounted so early there is a diminishing profit margin — little “wiggle room” for more cuts. Apart from these specialty items, consumers seemed conservative and, at least in Clarksville, not as willing to randomly spend.
There is no fudging a national declaration of “recession.” It’s, here. It’s now. And it’s been here for a while. It’s an issue on which the current administration has been in a state of persistent denial. For the rest of America, the lower and middle class worker bees, it’s reality.They have the bills and the decreased spending power to prove it.
About Christine Anne Piesyk 
In my 40+ years in media, I have worked as feature writer, investigative reporter, editor, publisher, and film/theater/arts critic. I brought my liberal New England activism to Tennessee several years ago, having finally completed a mid-life undergraduate degree in community organizing and women's studies, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts with a concentration in Alzheimer's Disease. I served on Future Search Commissions for two colleges and on homelessness for the City of Northampton (MA), where I applied some of my undergrad work in urban planning and community development. I am a member of FreeThinkers for Peace and Civil Liberties. I am a certified storm spotter just because weather fascinates me. In my spare time (define spare time please?) I am a voracious reader, obsessive movie buff, ballroom dancer, and classical music junkie. I also create sci-fi/fantasy and renaissance costumes. I see life as an ongoing opportunity for learning and adventure (one current interest is mastering preparation of foods from India and Southeast Asia). My dream: a return trip to Machu Picchu. After all, the best things still to come. All posts by Christine Anne Piesyk as presented on Clarksville Online are copyright ©2006, 2007, 2008 to the author.
Email: womanspeak@gmail.com
Sections
Business, NewsTopics
Business, Economy, National Bureau of Economic Research, Recession, Stock Market
Archives
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.