tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2711629535903396548.post-21878233812443004162007-10-18T11:26:00.000-04:002007-10-18T12:24:36.259-04:00Check out <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/10/18/poll-nearly-half-think-us-in-recession/">this article</a>. Written by "CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser", it reports that 46% of Americans believe the country is in a recession, while 51% do not. It goes on to provide a demographic breakdown of the poll (black vs white), the definition of a recession, and speculation on the impact of this perception on the President's approval rating. It does not, however, state <span style="font-style:italic;">whether the U.S. is actually in a recession.</span> I've not seen any confirmation that we are, although there have been <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20730894/">numerous</a> <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/28/magazines/fortune/recession_chatter.fortune/">articles</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/12/business/realestate/main3253507.shtml">recently</a> about whether we're close. (Thoughts on that can be found below.)<br /><br />Are we in the midst of a self-fulfilling prophecy? People read about a shaky economy, get nervous, stop spending, and voila! Recession, considering that consumers drive roughly 70% of the economic activity in this country. Let's hope, for all our sake, that's not what happens.THE RESPONSIBILLIEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576326125688067011noreply@blogger.com