Panel says US has been in recession since Dec. ’07

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday.

The NBER - a private, nonprofit research organization - said its group of academic economists who determine business cycles met and decided that the U.S. recession began last December.

The White House commented on the news that a second downturn has officially begun on President George W. Bush’s watch without ever actually using the word “recession,” a term the president and his aides have repeatedly avoided. Instead, spokesman Tony Fratto remarked upon the fact that NBER “determines the start and end dates of business cycles.”

“What’s important is what is being done about it,” Fratto said. “The most important things we can do for the economy right now are to return the financial and credit markets to normal, and to continue to make progress in housing, and that’s where we’ll continue to focus.”

Many economists believe the current downturn will last until the middle of 2009, and will be the most severe slump since the 1981-82 recession.

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Panel says US has been in recession since Dec. ’07

Some of us knew this, some of us KNEW that we were already in a recession. Some of us blogged it, some of us were told, by other bloggers, that we had NO idea of what we were talking about. We were told that George W. Bush had the economy well under control, were were told, during the Enron debacle, and the ensuing financial bailout, GWB knows what he’s doing and has the best money minds in the business working on this.

We have watched our finances go from pretty good in early 2001 to IN THE TANK in late 2008. So, let me ask you, WHO was the guy in charge during those years? Who inherited an amazingly healthy economy and a rather comfortable budget surplus when he took office?

Yes, I DO know that we had the attacks of Sept. 11th. Yes, I DO know that we had a military and Intel deficiency brought on by the Clinton administration. Yes, I DO know that the Bush administration had to ‘foot the bill’ to rebuild those military and Intel services, but I also know that the Bush administration has blown approximately $10B a month in Iraq for the nearly 6 years now, and so far, there is no REAL end in sight.

Let me remind the reader, Iraq had NOTHING to do with the attacks of 9-11, a fact that is substantiated by the DoD, the CIA and the U.S. Senate and House investigations, but we’re there, and will be there for a long time to come.

The Bush administration is, in MY opinion, responsible for the debacle that IS Iraq, and for the TRILLIONS of U.S. taxpayer dollars that have gone to pay for this very unnecessary war. I seem to remember in times past when war was considered to be beneficial to the economy, it created limitless jobs and opportunities. Has the Bush administration screwed up the ‘art of war’ so badly that now the American citizen goes broke? Are the major corporations going broke over this war?? Or from their own ineptness? Is Halliburton the only BIG winner here?

America is in a fix folks, the Bush administration is responsible for it. As Harry Truman said, “The buck stops here”. This happened under the Bush watch. Who else can you lay the responsibility upon?

EDIT TO ADD:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush expressed regret Monday that the global financial crisis has cost jobs and shrinking retirement accounts and said he will support more government intervention if needed to ease the recession.

“I’m sorry it’s happening, of course,” Bush said in a wide-ranging interview with ABC’s World News, which was airing Monday. “Obviously I don’t like the idea of people losing jobs, or being worried about their 401(k)s. On the other hand, the American people got to know that we will safeguard the system. I mean, we’re in. And if we need to be in more, we will.”

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Bush to country: ‘I’m sorry’ about the economic crisis

Now I don’t know about YOU, but I feel a hell of a lot better knowing that Bush is *sorry*…