The R Word...Say It, Say It
by Vera H-C ChanDec 2, 2008
As a nation of people weened on validation, Americans should have been pleased with the news that, yes, they are officially in a recession.
From the "Tell-Us-Something-We-Don't-Know" files, the National Bureau of Economic Research had to wait for its dating committee to get together to read the economic signs. The declaration sparked questions like "what is a recession," "define recession," "economic recession definition," and "what is a recession economy." (Time does a good job explaining why December 2007 was chosen as the official start of the Economic Doomsday.)
However, the plain old reality—and keyword—"recession" had long been floating around in the cyber ether. People were already asking "what is a recession" back in September 2007, more than a year ago. Then, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan played the Grinch last December by mouthing off the r-word.
All-time Search highs for "recession" hit in January 2008. That means people were feeling the pain one month into the official slowdown. By March of '08, people were even tossing around stupefying economic terms like "stagflation," "economic stimulus package," and "rebate checks."
Another way to say "we told you so"—"recession" look-ups from Dec. 2007 to now are nine times higher than the previous time period (Dec. 2006-2007). (That's not even including queries for "recession proof jobs.")
Yet even though the news merely confirmed what was already known, investors tied an anchor around the Dow Jones and threw it overboard on Monday. The Buzz reaction has ranged from dour to falsely optimistic. USA Today noted that stocks usually "hit bottom" about five months before a recession ends. A "but" followed that cheery outlook, with an analyst pointing out the lack of "historical precedents" of an economy maimed by a bursting credit bubble.
New York Magazine, while admitting to looking forward to this reality check, sunk to a great depression. Meanwhile, the Huffington Post decided that this was a time for gallows humor with its article, "China Buys Naming Rights to U.S."
So, what to do now with this old-found knowledge? Investopedia briskly and poetically suggests girding one's portfolio against this "fact of life" that's "unavoidable as the setting of the sun." EHow dispenses contrarian advice on "how to make money in a recession." And, in defiance of another Grinch visit, Yahoo! Finance offers up "12 recession-proof holiday gifts." Yes, gifts. After all, it's not like you didn't see the recession coming a year away.
