> Except that’s never been the definition. That's not true. Economists have given definitions and the one considered the de facto standard was two quarters of

> Except that’s never been the definition. That's not true. Economists have given definitions and the one considered the de facto standard was two quarters of negative growth, which was a very good predictor of recessions in our lifetime: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/economics/recession/ https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/ec... > Recession is a term used to signify a slowdown in general economic activity. In macroeconomics, recessions are officially recognized after two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth rates. In the U.S., they are declared by a committee of experts at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/what-is-a-recession/ https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/what-is-a-recession... > In 1974, economist Julius Shiskin came up with a few rules of thumb to define a recession: The most popular was two consecutive quarters of declining GDP. A healthy economy expands over time, so two quarters in a row of contracting output suggests there are serious underlying problems, according to Shiskin. This definition of a recession became a common standard over the years. > For decades the definition has always been “whatever NBER says.” They actually have their own definition, but it's more lose and more inclusive: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/what-is-a-recession/ https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/what-is-a-recession... > NBER has its own definition of what constitutes a recession, namely “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.” And from the NBER itself: https://www.nber.org/business-cycle-dating-procedure-frequently-asked-questions https://www.nber.org/business-cycle-dating-procedure-frequen... > Most of the recessions identified by our procedures do consist of two or more consecutive quarters of declining real GDP, but not all of them. In 2001, for example, the recession did not include two consecutive quarters of decline in real GDP. In the recession from the peak in December 2007 to the trough in June 2009, real GDP declined in the first, third, and fourth quarters of 2008 and in the first and second quarters of 2009. Real GDI declined for the final three quarters of 2001 and for five of the six quarters in the 2007–2009 recession. This is where the WH's manipulation comes in. They say it's not the actual definition, but what they don't say is that the other definitions are more likely to identify 2022 as the beginning of a recession. > Several recent recessions don’t match the two quarters of negative growth rule. How many times there was two or more quarters of negative growth that wasn't a recession?