Because it's not the definition. In university long ago, we were told that 2 quarters of decreased growth was not a sufficient criterion for recession in the U

Because it's not the definition. In university long ago, we were told that 2 quarters of decreased growth was not a sufficient criterion for recession in the US. So when I keep seeing people complain about Biden's administration "changing the definition", I can conclude that they either have no clue what they're talking about, or they're just lying. In most cases, it's probably the former. The definition of recession that invloves more than two quarters of reduced growth has been around for a long time. The idea that it hasn't is what was really made up for political purposes.