President Joe Biden’s administration is taking heat for apparent attempts to mask the meaning of a second consecutive quarter of negative growth for the U.S. economy.
While economists’ rule of thumb for a recession has typically been two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, the White House has recently argued that a second quarter of negative GDP growth does not necessarily mean that the economy is in a recession (though Biden’s economic advisors have repeatedly defined a recession as two quarters of negative GDP growth).
And the argument that the U.S. is not yet in a recession has sparked a backlash from conservatives and Republicans.
“Of course President Biden and Speaker Pelosi won’t admit it,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said of Democrats’ “failed” policies Thursday morning on the House floor. “Their response to rising prices has been to issue dismissals, denials, distortions, and a little deceptive spin.”
“While the corrupt corporate media plays word games, there is another acceptable definition,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Thursday. “To paraphrase Reagan, a recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Joe Biden loses his. January 2025 can’t arrive soon enough!”
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) noted in a statement that “you don’t need a fancy economics degree to have seen this coming.”
“Biden’s spending over the last 18 months is directly responsible for the economic situation we’re in today,” Hern said. “He’s doubling down on that strategy and planning to push a revived Build Back Broke plan through Congress. Our country can’t handle another recession like we saw in the 70s and 80s. It’s time to stop the spending NOW.”
Consumers’ Research highlighted Biden administration officials’ denials of a recession in a video compilation Thursday.
As much as they try and deny it, the GDP numbers don’t lie, we are in a recession.
Under the Biden Administration, we are "building back broker." pic.twitter.com/FVyRfHMkiw
— Will Hild (@WillHild) July 28, 2022
“The GDP numbers don’t lie — under the Biden Administration, we are building back broker,” Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild told The Daily Wire. “Due to the disastrous economic policies instituted by the Biden administration and his ex-BlackRock cronies like Brian Deese, our country is in the midst of a recession, passing the price of their progressive policy decisions onto the consumer.”
“Regardless of how the White House tries to spin it,” Hill added, “the Biden recession is here to stay as everyday Americans are facing higher prices from the grocery store to the gas pump.”
The Biden recession is officially at hand https://t.co/Upn0aobvWX
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 28, 2022
“If you’re not worried about a recession, why change the definition of recession?” asked Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).
The Twitter account of the Select Committee on the Economy joked that “responsibility” is “the next word the Biden Administration tries to change the definition of.”
“The definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results,” said Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL). “Yet here we are now entering a recession and Democrats are trying to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on Green New Deal priorities and raise taxes on America’s job creators.”
Our economy is shrinking while Biden and liberals are spending.
Now, they’re changing the definition of "recession" so they can jam through tax hikes and a spending blowout worth hundreds of BILLIONS. #StopTheSpending
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) July 28, 2022
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) tweeted that the White House can “play with words all they want,” warning, “They aren’t fooling the millions who are footing the bill for their garbage policies.”
It is official, we are in a recession.
The White House can play with words all they want.
They aren’t fooling the millions who are footing the bill for their garbage policies.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) July 28, 2022