There’s a lot of talk these days about a double-dip recession. But in a sense that’s an improvement over what many people had been expecting — a depression.
Last month a poll reported that a whopping 48 percent of Americans thought that an economic depression was either “very” or “somewhat” likely within a year. The economic news hasn’t been much better since that poll was taken by the Harris Organization.
In fact, Standard & Poor’s downgrade of US debt to AA+ status, the chaotic situation surrounding the debt ceiling and a continuous stream of bad economic reports should have increased the numbers of those expecting bad things.
So what are we really worried about? A depression, or merely a recession? As legit as all the depression talk may feel, it’s difficult to comprehend on a very elementary level. Why? Because there is no one definition in the economics field for what a “depression” really is.
A recession? Sure, that’s two quarters of negative gross domestic product.
In layman’s terms, that’s six months of no growth or contraction in economic activity. A depression is probably best defined by the quip “A recession is when your neighbor is out of work, a depression is when you lose your job.”
Oddly, people didn’t back up their depression talk when recently interviewed by The Post.
Emily Watson, a University of Pennsylvania graduate student, blames the messenger. “The media loves drama,” she says.
Juan Pablo Lacayo, an entrepreneur living in Florida, says he’s not fretting about a depression.
Lacayo said, “I’m not worried about things yet. I’ll let you know when it gets here, if it ever gets here.”
One respondent said, “The only people that think [there will be a depression] are the ones that got us into the recession in the first place and lost their jobs.
“[They] still don’t have jobs, so they have nothing better to do than scare people into thinking a Great Depression is on its way.”
And they seem to be succeeding.
The Harris Poll revealed that because Americans don’t yet trust the economy, they are continuing to cut back on their spending, sticking to generic products rather than buying expensive national brands.
Rachel, a 20-something New Yorker who didn’t want her last name used, thinks the economy is causing a reduction in one other thing — complaints.
“A depression is a time for no complaints, plain and simple,” Rachel said.
