Democrats are once again changing a word’s definition to fit their narrative. Today it is “recession.” Old definition was two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. New definition is relax and look elsewhere.
White House officials are really trying to spin our economy ahead of the official release of quarterly GDP numbers. According to the White House, the definition of recession is much boarder than anyone ever knew until now. But they fail to acknowledge this is the first time ever they have claimed to define “recession” this way.
President Biden’s chief economist Brian Deese dismissed discussing economics when he spun the administration’s poor results as “technical debates about backward looking data.” His principled objection to data in performance review is groundbreaking but unlikely to catch on.
Honesty is a better policy. Tell the truth about economic conditions in clear terms that people can evaluate on their own.
Their spin on the economy doesn’t line-up with reality. Inflation is at a record high, which harms everyone’s purchasing powering. Liberals need to appreciate that inflation is a regressive tax, disproportionally impacting lower income individuals. On top of that, gas prices are still very high, and nearly every item at the grocery store is more than it was two years ago. The new definition of recession, to relax and look elsewhere, just doesn’t fit in today’s economy.
This trend of changing definitions to suit a preferred outcome has been happening too frequently. “Infrastructure” is an example of attempted change. Last year, Sen. Gillibrand tweeted, “Paid leave is infrastructure. Child care is infrastructure. Caregiving is infrastructure.” She was talking about a highway bill.
Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson can’t even keep up with all the new definitions. During her confirmation hearing she was asked for the definition of “woman.” She said she didn’t know, but I bet she knew when she was in grade school, but today, well, it’s tough to keep up.
We’ll know for sure on Thursday morning whether we’ve had two consecutive quarters of negative GDP. If so, then we’ll call it a recession. We expect honesty, Mr. President. Tell us the truth.
