This current economy is giving life to a handful of new words tied to the recession according to this abcnews.com story. Some of the words are making it into the online site of the major dictionaries. Thankfully they are not putting the words into the printed version…yet. Does anyone still buy the hard copy? Here are a few of these new words entering the lexicon: decremental: adjective The act or process of decreasing or becoming gradually less; the amount lost by gradual diminution or waste. Great Recession: noun The current recession, which began in December 2007. The length and severity of the current recession has led some in the media… Read More
Continue ReadingThe 7.2 Flu
Today’s announcement of 7.2% unemployment is remarkable in a bad context. Yet, I do appreciate the AP writer’s opening sentence (my color): The nation’s unemployment rate bolted to 7.2 percent in December, the highest level in 16 years, as nervous employers slashed 524,000 jobs. Dramatic, wouldn’t you say? Look, it is bad and most people realize that fact, but this type of fear-mongering is over the top. How about the third graph: For all of 2008, the economy lost a net total of 2.6 million jobs. That was the most since 1945, when nearly 2.8 million jobs were lost. That was the first half; here is the second half (can’t… Read More
Continue ReadingBenefits Of A Recession
BusinessWeek.com offers up a provocative article about the slowing economy – The Upside of Recession. Interesting opening: Pop quiz, hot shot: What do MTV, Trader Joe’s, and the iPod have in common? Yes, of course, they’re all now ubiquitous and make our lives much more agreeable. But to us, the most interesting thing about all three is that these great brands were born during recessions. (Trader Joe’s: 1958; MTV: 1981; iPod: 2001, if you are scoring at home.) The authors are just warming up: Cutting (ed.- lay offs) across the board is the coward’s way of dealing with a downturn. It assures that no one is going to yell—how could… Read More
Continue ReadingBright Spots In A Bad Economy
Yahoo HotJobs has a story out today titled Recession-Proof Jobs in 2008. First, I love this old media trick: Economists at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley say the U.S. is heading for its first-blown recession in 16 years, and a recent CNN poll found that 57 percent of the public believe the U.S. is in a recession already, with the economy topping the list of voter’s worries. 16 years? How about 8 years ago with the tech bubble? Are we in a recession if CNN does a poll and people say we are? Please, I would prefer to read what measurements show that we are in a recession today. Enough… Read More
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