I saw a news blurb a couple of weeks ago in which "analysts" stated that the recession is over. Well, that's comforting, isn't it? It's also really nice to know that economic analysts, at least, don't have to worry about losing their jobs, since they seem to be in higher demand during down times than when the economy is humming along at full steam.
For the rest of us who live in the real world, though, the recession is still here. The only thing that seems to have changed is that economists are now calling it a "slow recovery" rather than what it really is. A report released last week by the New England Economic Partnership tries to be upbeat, but paints a picture of lingering economic doldrums, particularly for the New England states. Maine and New Hampshire seem to be faring the best, but will still experience sluggishness for at least another year. Vermont and Massachusetts' economies will supposedly "bottom out" this quarter, with slow improvement over the next year. Connecticut is facing problems until 2013, and Rhode Islands' economy is so bad that the report did not even offer a projection for recovery.
An Associated Press article by Judy Lin delivers even more good news. She cites a study by the Pew Center that declares 10 states on the verge of economic disaster. Not surprisingly, Rhode Island is one of them. The others are California, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Wisconsin. These 10 states represent more than one-third of the nation's economic output. Goodness! Imagine if the recession wasn't over, the mess we'd be in!
So, the next time you are feeling down because of the Great Recession, just remember that those who really know what's going on have declared it "over". And if you live in New England and have lost one of the nearly 400,000 jobs that have disappeared in our region since early 2008, take heart. You can always retrain to become an economist.
For the rest of us who live in the real world, though, the recession is still here. The only thing that seems to have changed is that economists are now calling it a "slow recovery" rather than what it really is. A report released last week by the New England Economic Partnership tries to be upbeat, but paints a picture of lingering economic doldrums, particularly for the New England states. Maine and New Hampshire seem to be faring the best, but will still experience sluggishness for at least another year. Vermont and Massachusetts' economies will supposedly "bottom out" this quarter, with slow improvement over the next year. Connecticut is facing problems until 2013, and Rhode Islands' economy is so bad that the report did not even offer a projection for recovery.
An Associated Press article by Judy Lin delivers even more good news. She cites a study by the Pew Center that declares 10 states on the verge of economic disaster. Not surprisingly, Rhode Island is one of them. The others are California, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Wisconsin. These 10 states represent more than one-third of the nation's economic output. Goodness! Imagine if the recession wasn't over, the mess we'd be in!
So, the next time you are feeling down because of the Great Recession, just remember that those who really know what's going on have declared it "over". And if you live in New England and have lost one of the nearly 400,000 jobs that have disappeared in our region since early 2008, take heart. You can always retrain to become an economist.
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