So, GDP grew at 4.9 percent - the highest growth in four years.
Instead of greeting the news with optimism about the American economy - right as the housing woes are setting in - the media used it as an excuse to hype economic downturn.
"The economy is slowing down so fast this quarter you can see the skid marks as it slams on the brakes," Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group, said in an Associated Press story on December 20.
The story also quoted former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who isn't optimistic either.
"Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and others say the odds of that happening have grown this year. Greenspan recently warned that the economy is ‘getting close to stall speed.'"
But, it went relatively unnoticed when Greenspan, on October 10, said "odds are better than 50-50 the U.S. will skirt a recession over the next six to nine months.
CNN Senior Business Correspondent Ali Velshi echoed the Associated Press and said economic downturn is pending.
"Now, the cloud around this one is that most people suspect the final three months of this year - of 2007 - will drop to somewhere between one and one-and-a-half percent and we could go lower next year," said Velshi.
CNBC's Steve Leisman, on the December 20 "Street Signs," reported the GDP data, but warned GDP growth could be zero for the fourth quarter.
"[T]here's the GDP number, 4.9 [percent]," Leisman said. "The expectation among some economists is those bars (on-screen graphic showing quarterly GDP) fall off a cliff and go down to one or two [percent]. Some say zero for the fourth quarter of the year."
Although this data is a lagging economic indicator, there was one beneficiary of the news that hasn't gotten much attention from the media - the strengthening of the U.S. dollar, even though it got a lot of coverage in November.
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Comments Policy
The Fed is signalling
December 20, 2007 - 17:59 ET by c5thenThey are going to cause a recession in order to devalue the dollar to boost globalization and to move the amero closer to possibility. They are in a long term plan with the other european central banks to get to one single world currency controled by the bankers and financers, not individual governments.
This is the reason the FED was created in the first place.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.
70% of D's believe we are in a recession.
December 20, 2007 - 18:10 ET by Gary HallTo the dictionary. Source -- about.com:Economics
Note: We have not had one for amost 6 years.
On CNN, Dec. 11th, Anderson Cooper's show reporter Tom Forman was discussing the economy with AC and sized up the results of their polling, in promoting this fear mongering, "Do you believe that we are currently in a recession?" as:
Since we are not in a recession and no one with any expertise would suggest that we are in one, perhaps the only reason to ask such an unethical false question would be to find out who the ignorant folks really are. Remember, 70% of Democrats polled believe we are currently in a recession.
Back to the dictionary (Dictionary.com)
Ignorant:
There is only one reason why so many Democrats believe that we are in a recession, and that is simply because the media has been working overtime trying to convince them that we are in a recession - and all for their self serving political greed.
Either one of these so called "news reporters" could have correctly stated, "of course, we are not in a recession by any definition of the term." When you know for a fact that we are not in a recession, you don't ask if we are in a recession.
A LA Times/Bloomberg poll, in November, asked the question in a much more professional manner (although asking it at all is eveidence of their own bias).
Such polls are only done by the media when they are wanting to intruduce fear into the public. As we were heading into a recession in late 2000, during the midst of a hisoric stock market crash, the MSM had no interest in promoting fear of the coming recession - which was well expected by the experts - because they wanted Al Gore to win - so they just marched to the tune that nothing was happening.
Perhaps CNN pollsters could ask all sorts of worthless questions which are out there in ozone territory.
Are we in a recession? Seventy percent of Democrats say yes...
December 20, 2007 - 18:18 ET by wizardjrtake a gander at the unhinged bleatings over at the Minneapolis (online) edition of The Examiner (http://www.examiner....). It's BDS Plus. Total denial of reality just because Bush is President. Amazing! I Googled 'increasing poverty' and got a whole slew of Demoncrat web sites claiming we're all starving in the streets. No wonder the moonbats think that's what's up.
And the poor have no
December 21, 2007 - 09:33 ET by pbanks7And the poor have no medical care. Bush cut off the children from SCHIP and they're all going to die. I was having this discussion the other day, and I forgot to ask, "Then where are all the dead bodies?"
Ignorance is bliss. It's easier to repeat a mindless slogan than to do some actual research.
70% of D's believe we are in a recession because...
December 20, 2007 - 18:35 ET by Clear thinkerThey are all sadly depressed. I would be too if I thought like a liberal.
Rush Limbaugh stated that of the top 5 Republicans running for the presidency, only one was a true conservative. http://www.fred08.com/
about those skid marks...
December 20, 2007 - 18:11 ET by wizardjr"The economy is slowing down so fast this quarter you can see the skid marks as it slams on the brakes."
The only skid marks I see are the ones in my shorts as a result of ROFL and coffee spewing on reading this line of crapola ;-))
They won't admit it, even
December 20, 2007 - 19:49 ET by motherbeltThey won't admit it, even when the evidence stands up and slaps them across the face. Tomorrow's headline:
"GDP Increases, Economy in Decline"
IF ever anything positive is
December 20, 2007 - 20:33 ET by Cape Conservativementioned, you can bet your bottom dollar the next word will be "BUT" - the msm wouldn't know how to deliver good news if their lives depended on it...of course, I guess their lives "depend" on them focusing on the BAD BAD BAD every minute of every day!
I thank the good Lord every day that I am not a liberal thinker...it must be horrible to constantly focus on the negative. They are sure missing lots of good stuff!!
If the economy grows eight
December 21, 2007 - 09:36 ET by pbanks7If the economy grows eight straight quarters, and then goes to zero growth, we still have a lot bigger economy than we did 2 years ago. Duh.
Ignorance is bliss. It's easier to repeat a mindless slogan than to do some actual research.
And you know the rest of the story....
December 20, 2007 - 20:35 ET by Prester John......women and minorities hit hardest.
There's 7 places within a
December 20, 2007 - 18:27 ET by Free StinkerThere's 7 places within a mile of my house (as the bird flies) or a 5 minute drive, and all have help wanted signs up. 3 of them have had these signs up continuously since October.
Recession my arse!
Newsbusters. Log on and find out What the heck is so yummy over here!
The greatest flaw in the
December 20, 2007 - 19:37 ET by middleconThe greatest flaw in the American media is the inability to report good news. They rarely if ever admit the economy is in good shape, I know this may go against conventional wisdom on this site, but even during the Clinton years they only caught on that the economy was doing very well the last 2 years or so of what was the greatest economic run in a long time.
It all has to do with being ingrained liberals. In a liberals mind if 99% of people are doing fine and 1% of people are struggling, then it is the 1% of the people that reflect reality and not the 99%.
In a free market capatilist economy there will always be problems, and of course even less problems than in a 'full employment' socialist/communist economy, but to the media and liberals, its places like Norway, Sweden and Finland, 'cradle to grave' nanny states that have it right, not America, the place where everyone in the world actually votes with their feet to come to.
i disagree. it has more to
December 20, 2007 - 19:49 ET by MrSnugglesi disagree. it has more to do with the fact that a republican is in office. as soon as, God forbid, a democrat becomes president, it will be the greatest economy since post WWII. not only that, but they will suddenly begin reporting on the positive news out of iraq.
"TOM FOREMAN: Voters,
December 20, 2007 - 20:17 ET by ckc1227"TOM FOREMAN: Voters, however, disagree about the state of the economy. Are we in a recession? Seventy percent of Democrats say yes.."
Which is exactly why you don't govern based on polls. Just because the majority believes something doesn't make them right, or their choice of action the right one.
Mr. Foreman, maybe they
December 20, 2007 - 21:32 ET by motherbeltMr. Foreman, maybe they think we're in a recession because the MSM has been pretty much saying that for oh, I don't know, a year now?
When the media do that, people believe it, even if they aren't experiencing any ill effects themselves. They say "I'm doing fine, but I'm worried that a lot of other people aren't."
I could be wrong but
December 20, 2007 - 21:28 ET byIf you took energy cost increases out of the 4.9% increase, there wouldn't be much of an increase.
They talk about hurricane
December 20, 2007 - 22:05 ET by GregEThey talk about hurricane forecasts as if those forecasting are God-like, and every year is always going to be bad. If it's bad, they say see we told you so, even though a stopped clock is right twice a day.
Economy has done well. But, they say recession is coming, times
are tough, etc etc. Been saying it month in month out, year in year out, getting free pass as
it doesn't happen. If Democrat wins presidency and recession comes, they'll say
it's been expected, Republican president's fault (though what started to happen in 2000 which led to the 2001 recession for some reason was Bush's fault, not Clinton, strangely enough eh?) and another free pass for the Democrat president (warranted or not). If Republican president and it
comes, "see, those dang republicans causing recession we been saying was coming."
If no recession, they just keep running the same line that it's coming. One day they'll be right, just like that clock, and another "see we told you so."
You nailed it. A recession is coming....
December 21, 2007 - 09:42 ET by pbanks7Definitely. Inevitable. I can say, "It's going to rain," every day, and eventually it will rain. "Then I can say, See? I told you so."
Ignorance is bliss. It's easier to repeat a mindless slogan than to do some actual research.
}}---> GregE
December 21, 2007 - 09:57 ET by Cool ArrowI'm kinda thinking a recession is coming. I'm living prepared for it. I'm hoping it's not gonna happen, but just don't see the downside of preparing for the worst.
Don't need a new car, don't need to go to the mall, don't need credit card debt, don't need to live scared either.
Don't need the MSM trying to scare me either, and I don't need Wall Street or the President telling me to go out and spend money.
I guess it's kinda nice getting older in some ways. Seen it before.
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