1659296496 Paul Krugman declares US is not in recession claims negativity

Paul Krugman declares US is not in recession, claims ‘negativity bias’ in media

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New York Times columnist and economist Paul Krugman joined CNN’s Brian Stelter on Sunday in claiming the US is not in a recession and that the term doesn’t matter.

“Are we in a recession and does the term matter?” Stelter asked.

Krugman replied, “No, we’re not, and no, it’s not.”

“None of the usual criteria that real experts use says we’re in a recession right now. And what does it matter? You know, the state of the economy is what it is. Jobs are plentiful, although the labor market may be weak. Inflation is high, although inflation may be falling. What does it matter if you use the ‘r’ world or not? he said.

Krugman said the debate surrounding the definition of a recession was “snappy.”

Economist Paul Krugman says we're not in a recession on CNN "Reliable source."

Economist Paul Krugman says on CNN’s Reliable Sources that we’re not in a recession.

NY TIMES’ PAUL KRUGMAN CLAIMS ‘WAR ON INFLATION’ IS GOING ‘SURPRISINGLY GOOD’

“I’ve never seen anything so bad. The determination of many people to say this is a recession is beyond anything I’ve seen,” Krugman said, adding that partisanship is driving the debate.

The New York Times columnist suggested that people “want” the “Biden recession.” “Don’t worry about the fact that this is actually not a recession in the technical sense,” he continued.

Two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth has typically been the technical definition of a recession.

Krugman also said a “majority” of voters are unaware that the US is “gaining jobs” and that US employment news is overly negative.

A gas pump displays the price of fuel at a gas station in McLean, Virginia, June 10, 2022.

A gas pump displays the price of fuel at a gas station in McLean, Virginia, June 10, 2022. ((Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images))

POLITICO, CNN, MSNBC JOURNALISTS ARE WITHDRAWING FROM THE RECESSION DEFINITION THEY PREVIOUSLY COMMITTED TO

“There was a kind of negativity in the coverage. The press should tell people – people have their own personal experiences. And if you ask people how they’re doing, they’re pretty optimistic,” Krugman claimed, adding that some will complain about gas prices. “If you ask people how their financial situation is, it’s pretty cheap. If you ask them how the economy is, oh, it’s terrible. This is a media failure. Somehow we fail to convey to people the reality of what is going on. ”

Before the GDP numbers were released, several members of the Biden administration appeared on newscasts to try to redefine the technical definition of a recession.

Journalist Glen Greenwald criticized those trying to redefine a recession in response to a clip of Krugman posted to Twitter. He said their efforts to protect the Biden White House showed “a new level of audacity, no matter how low your opinion of them already is.”

Paul Krugman joins Brian Stelter "Reliable source."

Paul Krugman joins Brian Stelter on Reliable Sources. (Screenshot/CNN/ReliableSources)

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National Economic Council director and Biden White House economic adviser Brian Deese denied America was in a recession on Thursday after GDP figures were released.

“Well, we are certainly in transition and we are seeing a slowdown as we would all have expected. But I think if you look at the full data and the type of data that NBER is looking at, there’s practically nothing to suggest that this time is in the second quarter is recessionary.”

Hanna Panreck is Associate Editor at Fox News.