Saturday, July 30, 2022

This Is Joe Biden’s Recession

This Is Joe Biden’s Recession

Even the media can’t save Joe Biden from himself

On Thursday, the United States economy shrunk for a second quarter in a row.

We’re now in a recession. At least, what “experts” are calling a “technical” recession.

After a 1.6% decline in Q1, gross domestic product (GDP) fell at a 0.9% annualized rate, fueled mostly by out-of-control inflation resulting from Biden’s spending, energy, and foreign policies.

Of course, we already knew this. After all, these measurements are all retroactive — indicative of a time period that has already passed. Moreover, the Biden administration already knew this, demonstrated by their sudden attempt to shift the goalposts by redefining what a recession is…as if they can escape the voluntary impoverishment of the American people through a lexicographical technicality.

After all, in the words of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, we are not in a recession. We’re simply in a “period of transition in which growth is slowing.”

*eyeroll*

The concerning pattern here, though, is the mainstream media’s utter willingness to embrace Democratic Party talking points in their coverage of the slow collapse of the U.S. economy. Given that two consecutive periods of negative growth should signal calamity given the strength of the economy on Biden’s first day in office, the media’s framing of the issue is truly dumbfounding. 

  • CNN: “US economy contracts again, fueling recession fears”

  • CNBC: “GDP fell 0.9% in the second quarter, the second straight decline and a strong recession signal”

  • BBC News: “US economy shrinks again ringing recession alarms”

  • USA Today: “Economy shrank 0.9%, marking second straight contraction and raising recession worries”

  • Los Angeles Times: “U.S. economy shrank in second quarter, fueling recession fears”

  • Bloomberg: “US Economy Shrinks for a Second Quarter, Fueling Recession Fears”

And then there’s the “screw you, peasants” response from The Atlantic, with “How to Be Happy in a Recession.”

Isn’t it strange how they’re all essentially the same headline? Yes, the economy shrunk, but it’s not a real recession! Almost like they’re parroting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who said that he does not “think the U.S. is currently in a recession and the reason is there are too many areas of the economy that are performing too well.”

Would they be quite as forgiving if Joe Biden was, say, a Republican? After all, here are just a few headlines from the same mainstream media following the voluntary economic shutdown under Donald Trump in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19 — a global pandemic — as opposed to the man-made economic suicide of Biden’s administration.

  • The New York Times: “U.S. Economy Plunged Into Recession in February”

  • NPR: “It's Official: U.S. Economy Is In A Recession.”

  • Los Angeles Times: “U.S. economy, in clear sign of recession, shrinks 4.8% in first quarter due to coronavirus”

And what did Jerome Powell say at the time? “We may well be in a recession.”

Yes, the recession of 2022 is different in many ways from the recession of 2020. But while the numbers imply that 2020 was worse, it’s important to understand that 2020’s recession was fueled almost entirely by the collapse of the worldwide economy due to (bad) COVID-19 policy.

Meanwhile, when the economy should be rampaging back to full strength following the removal of many of these policies, we’re staring down the barrel of recession and stagnation.

In that way, 2022’s recession is worse because it’s a recession Biden chose.

Follow Ian Haworth on Twitter, and subscribe to his upcoming show, “Off Limits with Ian Haworth”.

https://ianhaworth.substack.com/p/this-is-joe-bidens-recession

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