64% of Americans think we are in a recession.
64% of Americans are wrong!
But they cannot be faulted. Most Americans are doing fine despite inflation, but because of the attention the media is giving to recession -- even providing experts who say we are in a recession or soon will be -- they think Americans as a whole are not doing fine.
That, of course, is not true. However, an impending recession makes for a great news story.
Soon, we may learn that the GDP dipped for the second quarter in a row. Some say that means we are in a recession.
Well, they are wrong, too, so says Economic Professor Shanks.
The American economy is based primarily on three factors, employment, job growth, and, most of all, consumer spending.
We have been at or around 3.6% unemployment for most of the Biden administration. That is considered full employment. It is impossible to be heading for a recession with full employment.
ABC reports, "The nation's June jobs report showed that hiring has remained
healthy, with employers adding 372,000 jobs last month." It is impossible to be heading for a recession with that kind of job growth, or any job growth, for that matter. Recession causes loss of jobs and growing unemployment.
Most important of all because the American economy is based on consumer spending, consumer spending is solid. See
Personal Consumption Expenditures After a severe dip during Trump's Republican administration, consumer spending has been healthy. It is impossible to be heading for a recession with healthy consumer spending.
Strangely enough, when the networks try to scare you about an impending recession they never mention consumer spending. That is strange because the most important factor in our economy is consumer spending.