So Hurricane Ian hit Florida, is it a disaster? Legally it isn't a disaster until the governor signs the disaster declaration. Similarly are we in a recession

So Hurricane Ian hit Florida, is it a disaster? Legally it isn't a disaster until the governor signs the disaster declaration. Similarly are we in a recession? Legally the National Bureau of Economic Research gets to make that call. The rule of thumb is it gets called when for consecutive quarters of GDP contraction. However they have said they refuse to call it because unemployment is low and wages are doing well. So you can call it whatever you like, legally it is just another day.