Over the past few weeks mainstream media has been tossing around the word “recession” with utter carelessness and it’s driving me crazy. I’m not an economist, but I can tell you that we are not in a recession and will not know until at-least June if we are in a true recession. That’s right, it takes at-least SIX CONSECUTIVE MONTHS of declining GDP or negative economic growth before it can truly be said we are in a recession.
Most smart people know that the sky is not falling and even in a down market plenty of money will be made and things won’t be as bleak as the media is making it out to be. But the problem is the rest of the population is starting to freak out and run for cover because everywhere they turn people are telling them we are headed for a recession. It may be true, but I wish the media would stop fueling the fire and causing this to be a self fulfilling prophecy. Markets go up and down, it happens. But do we really need to talk about this like it’s doomsday? I just looked at the cover of Newsweek and the headline reads “Road to Recession.” It’s important to prepare for the future and always consider the worst possible scenario, but I wish the media would discuss the matter in a less apocalyptic tone. If the media convinces enough people we are doomed to be in a bad recession we just might just end up there sooner rather than later.
