Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Recession over, but economy still struggling

A new report out details how the “Great Recession” officially ended in June of last year (2009). That means that, for the past year or so, we have been living in a time of recovery.

But it doesn’t feel that way to the Average American. Most will hear this news and say to themselves, “bull----.”

The problem lies in semantics. When a recession ends, whether it be this one or any other during our nation’s history, it means that the economy is no longer in decline, and in fact is starting to show signs of growth. It doesn’t mean, however, that the economy is back to its pre-recessional strength -- in fact, it may take years for it to reach that level again. The unemployment rate will remain high, people’s wages won’t be as good as they were before the bust, and many people will still struggle to make ends meet.

So when people read about how this recession is over, it’s understandable that they won’t suddenly be dancing in the streets rejoicing at the news.

Until there are long-term job opportunities for those without work, recession or not, our economy still has a ways to go before people will (rightly) believe things are better once more.

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