Retail sales fell 0.9% in May, worse than expected as consumers pulled back

[progree]

7. "that's the way we learned it in economics, as it's the common definition"

Last edited Wed Jun 18, 2025, 05:01 AM - Edit history (2)

It is no doubt a common definition, but it is NOT the OFFICIAL definition. If you have links that say otherwise, I'll review them. I've supplied my links.

"Then you can scream at your television in vain as those people are called to go on shows explaining that we're in a recession"

I don't watch TV, and I find talking heads the least credible source.

I don't expect to convince you of anything, and I could care less. People reading this dialog can review your lack of links to what you learned in school (LOL) and from TV talking heads, and compare to what the BEA and NBER say. I just don't want my fellow progressives to be misled by Internet memes, that some spread for ideological reasons (like Fox during the Biden administration), no matter how common they are.

From #5: One quarter of economic downturn in the books, one to go before we're officially in another GOP recession

FALSE.

economists and authors of economic reading materials who wrote study materials from prior to 2008 and who's works applied prior to that.

It's 2025, not 2008. I could care less what the official definition was prior to 2008. And I haven't heard that anything changed in the official definition in or around 2008, or before, but I will gladly review any links you supply about the big change.

I also notice that the BLS and BEA, and all other government sources that I've seen, whenever they display graphs that show those gray vertical bands showing recessions -- that those bands coincide with the NBER determinations, not those of TV talking heads and what you think you were taught. You can see that I've reviewed many government statistics and graphs over the decades by pursuing my economics thread that's in my sig line, at
http://www.democraticunderground.com/111622439

5. I'm sorry, but two negative back to back quarters is not the official definition of a recession

6. I'm sorry, but that's the way we learned it in economics, as it's the common definition

If any of your august economic professors implied that because something is "the common definition", therefore it's the "official definition", you should have immediately raised your hand and called out the logical fallacy of an appeal to popularity, aka bandwagon fallacy.