85 Comments

A recession is a short term dip in our economy, is two and a half years in business terms short? We have been in a “recession” since 2008. I believe that we are on the brink between recession and depression. We are just at that point where it is hard to tell how much longer we will be in one and how bad it will worsen. Right now the unemployment rate is 8.7%. When we had the depression it was over 20%. We are not even half way there but we are growing and might get up that high if we don’t recover. Right now the inflation is around 1.6% and during this year it is projected to grow to 1.7%. We are slipping back into a recession for multiple reasons including: consumer’s lack of spending, the unemployment rate, and the stimulus is drying, etc. I believe we were in a recession and then went along to recover but we slipped back into a recession. This means we might even dig a deeper hole for ourselves. I believe we are on the edge between recession and depression.

Jake Eisenhauer May 12, 2011 @ 1:00 pm Reply

i like your deffinetion of recession i agree with it too.

vanessa smith May 13, 2011 @ 10:35 am Reply

i agree with you jake. the unemployment rate is increasing. we have been going downhill for some time now.

Loryn Chiapuzio May 13, 2011 @ 12:03 pm Reply

What is a recession? A recession is a general slowdown of economic activity. There has been debate whether the United States has been is a recession or recovery. I feel that the u.s was in a recession then was in recovery but is now back in a recession. If we don’t fix the problem soon we could fall into a depression. One way to help get back on our feet is small business. Why small businesses? Small businesses will supply job to thousands of people all over the u.s.

kody king May 12, 2011 @ 1:04 pm Reply

i agree. if you look at my response i have the same opinion. we were in a recession then in recovery then back in a recession.

Jake Eisenhauer May 13, 2011 @ 10:24 am Reply

how you explaind what is a recession was very inteligent. it also makes alot of sence, good job kody.

Dru Weihl May 13, 2011 @ 10:25 am Reply

kody i agree with this because small businesses do suplly a lot of jobs.

vanessa smith May 13, 2011 @ 10:33 am Reply

small businessess will decrease the unemployment rates. the more money people make, the slower our national debt will go up.

Loryn Chiapuzio May 13, 2011 @ 12:06 pm Reply

i also agree that we are in recession. good job. (:

Danielle Clark May 13, 2011 @ 12:09 pm Reply

i agree kody, my post totally supports this

I think you are right about small businesses, the more there are the better the economy gets..

Samantha Lucas May 16, 2011 @ 2:30 pm Reply

A controversial topic today is whether or not we are recovering from a recession, still in a recession, or even in the dreaded depression. I think that we are still in a recession, but not a recession bad enough to qualify as a depression. The Bureau of Economic Activity stated that the GDP of the U.S. has increased slightly in the first quarter of 2011. The GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, is an indicator of what situation the economy is in. The GDP for America is still low, but it is increasing. Our economy is still in difficult times though. The spending in the stock market has declined, which makes people spend less money in the economy Many people have stopped buying unnecessary items such as new cars and electronics. We are not yet out of a depression for several reasons. Unemployment rates, which are a distinct characteristic of a recession, are still very high. Employers are still not hiring unemployed peole to work at their businesses, which makes the unemployment rate even higher! Overall, I believe that the U.S. is still in a recession, but the economy is slightly recovering.

Waggoner, John. Is todays economic crisis another Great Depression? USA Today [New York, NY]. Web. 12 May 2011.

Gross Domestic Product, 1st Quarter. 2011 ed. April 28, 2011. Web. 12 May 2011.

Branson, John. What is a Recseeion? 4 Signs and Symptoms. Web. 12 May 2011.

Ashley H. May 12, 2011 @ 1:08 pm Reply

thats what i thought too.

Aubrey Bair May 13, 2011 @ 10:59 am Reply

Recession, depression, or recovery

As a country, we are recovering, but as individuals we are in a recession. Even though statics show that we are in recovery, there are a lot of family’s still homeless still jobless. Our economy is rising but very slowly so therefore it’s almost a recovery but it’s not. See the statistics are looking at the average family and above average income what about the underprivileged? Why aren’t we putting them in our statistics? If we added all the homeless families and individuals you would see the difference how we still are in recession but I think it’s almost the end, we are almost to the recovery but it’s going to take time and even more money. It’s all a cycle. There is a lot of contradicting but you have to understand all of the facts not just know some. We can’t ignore the poverty we have to except it and help it. A recession may be a normal part of our job market but we can’t go on like this and make people suffer, I mean if we make our own citizens suffer who is next after them?

chmura, christina. are we still in a recession?. bacons rebellion (2011): n. pag. Web. 12 May 2011.

harris, tom. how recessions work. a discovery company (1998-2011): n. pag. Web. 12 May 2011.

recession definition. investopedia (2011): n. pag. Web. 12 May 2011.

by Amber Terry

Amber Terry May 12, 2011 @ 1:08 pm Reply

you put a lot of time and effort into this by looking up facts and showing your opinion. good job

Jake Eisenhauer May 13, 2011 @ 10:26 am Reply

I agree we are slowly recovering, but alot of people are in debt and poverty.

Macy F. May 13, 2011 @ 10:50 am Reply

well said, i also agree.

Aubrey Bair May 13, 2011 @ 10:58 am Reply

i think that what you said is very smart and it makes sence. Good job, i like your ideas.

Vida Jaber May 13, 2011 @ 12:20 pm Reply

My opinion on whether we are on in a recession, depression, or recovery. Well what it thinks is that we are in a recession because, our economy is still running. In a depression the whole economy practically shuts down and starts over. And also when we had a depression a long time ago, there were a ton more people that were without jobs, and right now, a lot of people don’t have jobs but, nowhere near as many as when we had our depression

kyle May 12, 2011 @ 2:28 pm Reply

I think that the us is in a state of a recovery because my dad Tim lost his job as a construction worker back in ‘07 and he was one of the important guys and he was the one everybody came to get instructions and he was the boss of the worksite, but what happened next was about a year later as the economy got worse he got asked to get his job back but by then he was working at the libraries. So anyway I think the economy is recovering because I haven’t heard of much more people losing their jobs but a lot of my family that lost their jobs has had the opportunity to get a new one and they have took it and are now really successful. I also think so because of the article that Mr. Decker gave us I learned that it only talks about bad things happening and my mom always says that “best events are shortly after the worst possible event”. So that’s what I think.

Mr.Dr.Sir.Bradley S May 12, 2011 @ 2:41 pm Reply

i feel like in a way it is, but indivual progress shows nothing, but other than that, really great article

Dakota Anderson May 13, 2011 @ 10:54 am Reply

i totally agree no one is losing their jobs anymore!

joeley Helton May 13, 2011 @ 12:19 pm Reply

In Colorado, the average price for gas is 3.746 and rising. Remember the times when gas was only 25 cents? In 1791, the US national debt was just 75 million. Today the US national debt rises that amount about once an hour. The U.S. national debt rises at an average of $3.8 billion a day. The US government now borrows $5 billion every business day. The U.S. government has to borrow 41 cents of every dollar that it currently spends. The question is, why cant we stop it or at least slow it down? Everyone knows how deep in debt America is. Why dont we do something? All of these questions, with no answers. I would say that we are in a recession. As long as the US national debt goes down as fast as it does, we are in a recession.

CITATIONS:

18 Scary US Debt Facts | Jill Schlesinger CBS MoneyWatch.com. CBS MoneyWatch.com Personal Finance Advice, Analysis and Financial Planning. Web. 12 May 2011.

Area, Metro. Average Prices By State Colorado Gas Prices. Colorado Gas Prices Find Cheap Gas Prices in Colorado. Web. 12 May 2011.

Waggoner, John. Is Todays Economic Crisis Another Great Depression? USATODAY.com. News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World USATODAY.com. Web. 12 May 2011.

Loryn Chiapuzio May 12, 2011 @ 2:47 pm Reply

According to this article that I read 57% of Americans still think that were in a recession, but after reading the article by John Waggoner I believe that we are out of the recession but our economy still isn’t doing very well. Although we got out of the recession our economy is still not doing the best that it has ever ben but were not in a recession.

57% of Americans Still Think That Were Still In a Recession. Seeking alpha. Web.

Dru Weihl May 13, 2011 @ 10:24 am Reply

what you just described how our economy is not doing well described a recession!

vanessa smith May 13, 2011 @ 10:37 am Reply