The word is out, we're firmly mired in a recession. In fact, we've been in one since December 2007! Crazy. It took the National Bureau of Economic Research a year to confirm what we've all been thinking.
In a weird way, this sort of makes me feel better somehow. Not that I want to be in a recession, but I was starting to get frustrated and scared that if we weren't in a recession, how much worse could it get? Now, that we know we're in it and we've actually managed to survive (more or less) the recession for a year, I feel cautiously optimistic that in a matter of months we'll find out that, surprise!, the recession is over already.
Here's hoping...
Hmmm... I wonder if they didn't tell us so our spending wouldn't come to a crashing halt due to panic and maybe that's why we've managed to survive. Now that we're equipped with the truth, does this mean we'll stop spending and it WILL get worse? Tell me not to think about this...
Posted by: Ro | December 05, 2008 at 04:01 PM
That is such a big part of it. So much of the economy is built on sheer confidence that everything is okay. When people start to think that things aren't okay (like now), everything contracts.
The real answer is that we all just need to do what's best for our own situation, whether the economy is good or bad, and everything will level out. It just takes time. Not a fun answer, but it's the reality. Hang in there, it will get better!
Posted by: Jennifer Johnson | December 09, 2008 at 11:03 AM