Biden says the nation is on the right path

While it’s unclear if we’re in a recession, we do know that things have not improved and we are still facing inflation and what feels like a myriad of other issues.

Do you think the nation is on the right path? President Joe Biden does. He said, on Thursday, that we’re “on the right path,” even though recession fears are being fueled by the latest report from the Commerce Department, which shows the US economy shrunk again in the second quarter.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 0.9% on an annualized basis from April through June, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. While there is no rule governing what defines a recession in the US, it’s commonly linked with two consecutive quarters of the GDP shrinking.

However, a small group of economists on the Business Cycle Dating Committee officially determine when the country is in recession. They consider the country to be in a recession when a significant decline in economic activity is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months.

The White House seems to be trying to downplay the significance of Thursday’s report on the GDP. Officials argue that the data doesn’t reflect the latest progress that’s been made regarding the nation’s economy, to include the recent slight drop in gas prices across the nation.

In fact, top officials in the Biden administration are still insisting that the economy is not in recession amid rampant inflation.

“Coming off of last year’s historic economic growth — and regaining all the private sector jobs lost during the pandemic crisis — it’s no surprise that the economy is slowing down as the Federal Reserve acts to bring down inflation,” Biden said, Thursday, in a statement. “But even as we face historic global challenges, we are on the right path and we will come through this transition stronger and more secure.”

While the outcome might be as he’s predicted, it seems far-fetched at this point, as we continue to struggle with inflation, the housing market cooling off and interest rates seeing another hike by three-quarters of a percentage point for the second time, this year. The increase was done in an effort to tame the rampant inflation we’ve been experiencing for months. But that just means we’ll pay more for things like cars and credit card payments.

So while Biden might try to sell his pie-in-the-sky notion that we’re doing OK, most Americans (to include his supporters) aren’t buying it.