Do you think we are in a recession?

Change my shopping habits based upon a perception? Hardly. I spend my money on mortgage, food, utilities and an occasional used paperback book. I can't afford to buy anything else, so I don't have any habit to change. My shopping habits will change only if I get a pay increase. This is me holding my breath.

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Recession is undeniably present and affecting my shopping habits. I now choose between purchasing milk or juice, eggs or bread, fish or chicken, on a weekly basis. Add to that the fact that I'm one who has been terminated by JPMorgan Chase as of June, and with little prospects of becoming re-employed anytime soon, I am most definitely watching every penny as I see price jumps in fruits and vegetables, items I most consume. My diet has not changed, but the amount consumed has - weight loss is enough evidence for me.

As a result, I'm preparing to apply for Food Stamps.

The Free link of Craigslist.org has become my shopping site as I can no longer afford major purchases without feeling the pinch.

An easy sign of the imbalance of compensations and (government and corporate) mismanagement. And as habit would have it, leave it to the 'common man' to pay the consequences... yes? I can't wait to see the end-of-year compensation results for corporate CEOs...

Well first of all I think this recession (if we are in one) is media driven. I do believe that 3 or 4 years from now we will see and find out who really drove crude up (sure not the oil companies or the middle east) and has had it out for this economy. Oh that's right its an election year can't have the economy look good or the current party may get back in.
The increase in gas should have pushed us into a depression!!! SO the economy is pretty strong to survive just that. Also if credit does not become more available for nonresidential projects quickly the economy will only get worse. Does not mean go back to lending to anything that moves but try to get money right now, not easy. Unfortunately we have to take the good with the bad and this decade so far has been very good for those who didn't over leverage themselves.
Good luck to us all its not in our control!!!!

We do travel and go out less. When we have money to do so, nobody else can afford to bring their kids out. We even have a low mortgage, due to 30% downpayment 16 years ago.

The price of gas and winter heat is intensifying the economic downward spiral. We also have a "C" student in the White House for two terms!

Northeasterner

I think it's more like Depression instead of Recession!

This is the Sunday school part of whats coming on America. The downturn will come at a fast pace in the near future. The stimulus check is a joke when the government has already dug a hole financially and we are in debt to our eyeballs, this is like putting a bandade on major surgury operation. Americans are sleeping and think the economy will improve, especially those who have done well in the past, but the wakeup call is near. We cannot deficit spend and expect to ever beat the expenditures that we have created. When did America think they could get something for nothing? This is the mentality of most americans, especially the liberal, and the bank bail out is a joke to the government take over is stupid when on realizes the ones who are taking it over are already bankrupt, meaning the Federal government which in reality is alread bankrupt, like having a fox in the henhouse, so to speak. Anyway no quick fixes in the economy, watch in the near future whats going to happen to the USA.

I feel like it's more of a Depression instead of Recession. I don't like the fact I can't buy what my family enjoys eating! I'm not talking about steak every night. We have cut back on everything we can & still run short every month!!

Based on my personal observastions, I don't see a problem with the economy at all. Malls are packed. Movie theatres are packed to overflowing. Airports are packed. Hotels are packed. Restaurants are packed to overflowing. Freeways are packed with cars. There are lines to buy gas at every gas station I see. I know of a few people who are hurting, but that has always been the case. I see a few homeless people, but no more than usual, so I'm pretty sure very few, if any, people have actually lost a home due to falling real estate prices. (And that's just a correction, long overdue.)

There is a media frenzy to create an interesting story, but there isn't much of a story really.

And besides, so what if you can't buy a new plasma TV or a new hummer? That's hardly a sacrifice.

I don't think most Americans have a clue about what having a hard time really means. THIS, my fellow Americans, is NOTHING.

This is nothing??? Take a look at all the foreclosures going on. The price of gas, I don't like paying $4.00 per gallon, do you? The United States is in a big mess right now.

I actually know someone who lived though the great depression and this is no depression Rita. I took the lessons taught to me from great aunt who DID walk downtown who DID stand in line once she got there to get ration tickets for shoes, tires, sugar and coffee. She DID carry everything back to her farm house where she counted herself lucky to have a garden, live stock and seeds. She WAS the greatest generation. A crane operator because her husband and sons were off to WWII.
What goes up must come down and I have managed to stash plenty of money thanks to Bill Clinton era and the dot.com boom. I was never greedy and got out when money doubled. I could have taken one of those fly by night loans but I chose to stay in my house built in 1963 and save my money for retirement. Because I learned from the golden rule what is a priority and that is. There are only two necessities in life. A roof and running water. The rest is all luxury. My list is mortgage, utility bills, food and soap. The very next thing I pay for is health insurance and medicine. I have no cell phone. I'm just not that important. I don't have a new car every other year. I buy one and use it until it breaks down for good. I raise a garden because I always have. But if you want to look at the things that cost us so much fist would be the denial of a guest worker program. You are full of crap if you are going to tell me these young kids will go in the fields and do back breaking work that will make them sweat when they can get a job at McDonald's in an air conditioned building. Therefor less harvest, higher prices and rotten produce left unpicked. Florida orange growers are ripping up their orchards and planting anything that will produce ethanol because the profits are so high. We all sing Kumbiya lets end global warming and use corn for gas. Well welcome to the latent effects of meat prices higher as corn had tripled. Less oranges, less everything produce. I have been saying this for five years and I will say it again. Bush understood what the Kioto Treaty would do. He TRIED to tell you and was rejected outright. Dem's were ushered in after that and off we go to save the world. On top of this get ready for tax on eclectic like President Osama wants. If your usage goes X amt. be ready to pay for since he believes all our thermostats should be on 80 in the summer and 68 in the winter. Be ready for Small business to close up for good as he taxes them right out of business. Be ready to bend over and take it with a smile my friend. You deserve the government you elect.

Defining a recession is so hard for the "experts" as they look to perfectly fit a technical definition. But it's easy for the working person -- have you lost your job or do you know someone who has lost their job due to the economic downturn?

Ask someone in the development professions or trades. Any business tied to the residential or commercial development industries knows that these are the worst times since the 1970s. Maybe the 1930s, for this industry is experiencing depression-like numbers.

The standard Bush-type conservative response to the slow down is that the recession is media driven. Politically motiviated. For them, it's always the media as the villian. A convenient whipping boy: The media forced the economy down with overblown coverage of foreclosures, etc. Of course, the downturn has nothing to do with the absolute disgraceful management of our financial institutions ranging from "undocumented mortgages" to securitizing over and over near-worthless mortgages.

The media didn't cause the recession. They report the same numbers the government, administration, professional and trade groups put out in press releases in good times. The numbers just stink because economic times have changed. And there is a reason why economic times have changed. It's a credit crisis of huge magnitude that almost brought this country's financial system to its knees in March. It has taken extraordinary action by the Fed to keep us from sliding off the cliff.

The economy started sliding, not because of media reports, but when the reality of gorging on a housing bubble every which way a financial institution could do so finally roosted home. And there was a price to pay. Of course the feds were right there to bail out investment banks with the Federal Reserve grabbing power it doesn't legally have and then opening the money spigot wide open to them through all kinds of special treasury auctions and deals. So Bear Sterns disappears through a government-brokered deal. Not to mention the bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. All directly at your and my expense. Or, should I say, your kids' and my kids' expense because this administration has run up debt on the Bank of China card at torrid rates and we'll pay for this in decades, not years.

The economic downturn is directly related to non-existent regulation in derivative securities, horrid business practices in financial institutions and that famous human trait -- greed.

We will have a turnaround when all the junk securities and debt is finally written off (Merrill Lynch just dumped billions more) and liquidity returns to the credit markets. Then the development sector of the economy, which is the one suffering the greatest, can regain its footing. Not when the media writes rah-rah headlines. And it will be awhile.

Yes we are in a recession, but we are also in a depression. Our country is in a mess right now like it was in the 1920's. I don't know if we can do anything to get ourselves out of the deep hole we are in. We need to become self sufficient and not rely on other countries for oil or other things that we use to make in the United States. We need to start making these products again and put our own people to work. That is my suggestion on how to get our economy back on track.The sooner the better.Start the off-shore drilling anywhere we can,ASAP.Also wind energy.. and what-ever it takes.

First off, let's understand that it was not the "economy" or just one person that caused the housing market struggle. It was the unethical financial institutions that gave the loans. They knowingly gave loans to those who could no afford them. Did it help that we went into a economic slump? No, but that is not the work for the economy as a whole, but the actions of a select few. Moreover, I do not want to be the only one disagreeing with popular belief, but if people would do their homework you would understand that this is just a cycle of the economy. A down economy leaves opportunity for those who know what to do with it. Prices will fall as demand as can no longer sustain supply. Yes there are some difficulties at this time, but if you look back into our extensive history there have been many times where we have been in worse situations. You cannot blame the war in Iraq for this economic debacle. Historically speaking, wars have actually helped us come out of recessions. I tell you who is to blame for the economic decline...it's the media. It is their duty to represent the facts in a responsible way, with no prejudice. They have painted a picture of panic and have thrown the average American into a frenzy of financial fuzz (man I have alliteration everywhere, I'm loving it). I feel that they have misrepresented the true facts and indirectly started this snowball. Word of mouth has always been a strong tool. Unfortunately for us, it was used incorrectly.
The economy is a system that has cycles. At this time yes, we are in a difficult cycle (Not even close to a recession). However, when prices rise, demand drops and outcome is eventually equilibrium. The forces of the economy are required to work with one another no matter how much they do not want to. I promise you frightened Americans, as hard as it is, believe in this system that we have developed. It will slowly but SURELY work itself out. I understand it is easy to write this off ugly horror story on the war, or on a President that has his heart in the right place but never got on the right path. It is our responsibility as Americans to back our economy and understand its fluctuations. We will beat this blip in our system and you know what it will do?!? It will only make us believe in our system even more. This hard time that we speak will only make us stronger in our belief that we are the greatest nation in the world It's an never ending process that has been studied diligently and works as it should. So hear me my fellow Americans. These dark days will end as soon as we allow it. Stop being so pessimistic and point fingers at who isn't doing what. Do your part and everything else will fall into place. Thank you for reading and please let me know your thoughts. GOD BLESS THE USA.

Those people who are hurting right now are, in many cases, people who have been hurting for quiet some time. However, now, they believe they can blame the (relatively low) price of gas and the drop (really just a correction) of real estate prices on their woes.

Sorry, folks, but stop playing the blame game. If you chose to buy a house in the suburbs, for example, knowing that your commute to work is 100 miles each way, then you and only you are accoutable for your gas bill.

No, we are not in a recession (according to the real definition of a recession). Yes, the economy is definitely slowing down. The slowdown will probably continue for a year or more. Past experience has so accustomed us to think that home values will keep rising; our portfolios will keep growing; our gas will always be cheap. All the sudden reality has set in. The housing and credit bubbles have burst and worldwide demand for oil has increased enormously. These are difficult times for many Americans, but maybe it will help us to foucs on our needs vs our wants, and teach us to live within our means and start saving again. We'll get though it, but it won't be easy.

Yes we are in a recession more like a depression in the metro Detroit area. So many homes on the market in areas where one seldom saw a for sale sign. Too many empty houses. Prices at the pump and in the grocery store so high one can't buy the usual items when even dried pasta has increased!
Local produce doesn't even seem to be showing up at the Kroger store. One can't afford to drive to farmer's markets let alone the roadside stands. Electric costs and water and sewage rates are higher too. Who needs a new car these days when they are lasting longer. Can no longer change for vanity sake and now talk that leasing may go out the window. Who will be able to afford the down payment? The tax incentive--went to pay bills not furniture or appliances!

Yes we are in a recession which is close to going in a depression. Gas has cause many of our price to go up, but also we are losing jobs to the H1-B visa people and oversea do to the Free Trade Agreement and no jobs people will not be spending.

Home builders cause the price to go up, they seen so many people buying because the interest rate was down they decided to keep raising the cost of the home for higher profit and people kept buying.Sure the Lender are part blame for giving loans they should not have, but the builders cause it and no one is even going after them. they have collected their money and is out of the picture right now

The people should of know better but got on the band wagon hoping they would make a lot of money, not thinking they was paying more for a home than it really was worth. To them it was a investment, but some time you do lose money on investment and you need to be able to support it.

We all have had very good life able to buy what we want and do what ever we wanted, time are changing and many of you job will be gone for ever do to the Free Trade agreement. We will not be able to buy what we want or do the thing we could do before. You can blame yourselves because each of us want more and more, and wasn't paying attention to what the government was do and lost control of our own country. So our government has sold us out and we have no way now of returning to the life style we like, our country is going to become a third world country in twenty years or so.

We are getting to many people living here, we produce no product any more and all American companies are being sold to companies from other country nothing will be American own, so no more America.

I hope everyone is happy that they are leaving their children and their children nothing, what a waste our life have been

This IS recession. Gas has been going up and up and up.... Groceries are so expensive! You can rarely find deals anymore even on off brand items. Going to the movies yeah right, I see like 1 movie a year in the theatre cause I can't afford $9.00 a ticket in California and like $8.00 for a small popcorn. Disneyland, haven't been there for 6 years, my daughter is 2 and I have never taken her there, hope she gets to see it before she is a teenager. Car insurance a necessity but ridiculously expensive! Rent, $1600 average in the OC for a 3 bedroom, I don't even make that in a month. I'm lucky to have a job, I was laid off once last year and once the year before, I worked for the infamous mortgage industry. Way to go Bush!!!! If you elected him, shame on you.

No problems for some folks, My neighbor owes about $75k more than what his house is worth. Although he has no financial problems, and does quite well, he is just walking away from the house. He would rather us pay for his debt than him. But who can blame him? Its not his fault he can get away with it, it is the fault of the system. And another guy in the neighborhood let his house go back (because of no other reason than he knew he could not re-coupe his mortgage deficit) and 2 months later bought the house across the street, and cheap! I'm sure this is going on all over the place. Talk about putting ourslelves in a deficit! What a screwed up system!!!!!

We have a screwed up system, one of my neighbors is just going to let his house go back to the bank because he says he will never get his money back out of it, being that he bought when at the peak of the bubble, and now the house is worth about $75k less than when he bought. Another guy in the neighborhood let his house go back, for basically the same reason, and 2 months later bought the house across the street. Way to Go Government, as inefficient and ineffective as always.

According to the generally accepted definition of "recession" we are not in one. That of course assumes that the statistics upon which the generally accepted definition rests are accurate. When information showing that the GDP was still positive (barely) for the fourth quarter of 2007 was recently revised to show negative growth or actual shrinkage one has to question the accuracy of the statistics.

All that said..........the economy is not in good shape at present. Home foreclosures, the drying-up of commercial and personal credit, 5.7 percent unemployment and spikes in gas and food prices are impairing the ability of most to spend as they have in the past. Looking around for someone to blame is futile. We all elected the current Congress which has essentially done nothing more than pass laws that are unnecessary and unwanted while failing to pass legislation that is needed; all the while continuing to spend spend spend.

If we are waiting for government to fix things we will likely have a very long wait. At present our government seems much more interested in politicizing things than anything else.

The COUNTRY is in a recession. The ECONOMY might not be, but the majority of Americans are. Those at the top always profit, regardless of what is happening to the economy or the rest of the population. What's skewing the figures are the extreme incomes of those few at the top. If you take them out of the equation, you have a recession. Historically, this has nearly always been the case. This great country was founded on this very principle; the rich set up the government, run the government and own 95% of all the wealth. Personally, today's situation reminds me of the mid-70s when a similar set of circumstances existed: high gas prices, loss of jobs, etc. It was as bad or worse then than it is now, at least so far. We survived those years and we will again. Not until the wealthiest 5% suffer, like what happened in the Depression, will anything change.

A recession is when you lose your job.....................a depression is when I lose mine.

Yes, we are currently in a recession and likely a depression within a year. Yes, we have changed our spending but that started two years ago when we saw this coming. We sold our home two and half years ago at a good time and got a lot of flack about why we would rent. Those same people now have lost literally tens of thousands of dollars on their homes. We sold extra cars within the last six months due to gas and insurance prices. We started stocking up on food a year ago for the basics that could be stored. We grow our own food and buy local what we cannot grow.

The media is a big issue in this recession, but they got it partially right. Personally, I think media should report the facts only and leave the opinions to the people.

We have a business that has made us debt free and stock up on cash flow. We do not keep all our money in a bank. The business we are in allows us to see the "economy" about six months to a year before it happens in the general publics eyes. I can tell you that after the November election there will be a drastic drop in our economy. I predict a depression by October 2009, but that's just my two cents worth. The government is the only thing propping up this economy now and they can only do that for so long.

All the doom and gloom aside, this is just a cycle in our economy. It will come and it will go. How you handle it will make the difference. We are ready and excited for all the changes. We need them before we can take our next big growth in the United States. We are headed for some major changes in transportation, energy and technology. It's a great time to be alive and a part of it all.