Thursday, January 10, 2008

Recession. I wont participate and neither should you.

There is talk of an economic recession here in the United States. Then again, they have been tossing that word around for the past couple of years. Each time, a recession never materialized. The economic experts, as they are known by insiders, tell us that the economy is weak. Again, every time they say that, numbers come out that prove the economy keeps moving and growing.

So lets say the so-called experts are right this time. Hey, they can't be wrong all the time. Sooner or later they are going to get something right. Lets say this time the USA will slip into a recession. Lets say its text book. Well, what is a text book recession.

A recession is a decline in a nations gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year. Now this year could be viewed as any 12 month period of time not just a calender year.

Here is what Wikipedia says about about an economic recession and notice the definition changes when it come to the United States:

In macroeconomics, a recession is a decline in any country's gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year. However, in the United States the official designation of recessions is done by the business-cycle dating committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research (Feldstein, 2007). The American National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession more ambiguously as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months." A recession may involve simultaneous declines in coincident measures of overall economic activity such as employment, investment, and corporate profits. Recessions may be associated with falling prices (deflation), or, alternatively, sharply rising prices (inflation) in a process known as stagflation. A severe or long recession is referred to as an economic depression. A devastating breakdown of an economy is called economic collapse. Newspaper columnist Sidney J. Harris amusingly distinguished terms this way: "a recession is when you lose your job; a depression is when I lose mine."

In the United States this definition can be manipulated to fit whatever the “experts” want it to say. Have you not noticed how hard the media has tried to damage and degrade our economy every chance they get? We have a health care crisis. We have a mortgage crisis. We have all kinds of economic crisis. You would think by the fear that gets reported we were on the verge of an economic depression not recession.

Each time they predict such a thing, the US economy rebounds or shows “remarkable resistance” to what otherwise would be sure signs of economic downturn. They forget a few things. They forget that our economy, even on a micro scale, is now totally and completely global. The every day average Joe out there can have a business that is international in scope from their kitchen table. They fail to take into account new industries that seem to pop up overnight and create jobs and opportunity out of nothing. They forget the resolve of the people of this nation and of every other nation.

People like having money in their pockets. People like having the things they have. People like doing the things they like to do. They don't want to have to give up anything that they worked so hard to get. So they find ways to keep what is important to them. They start businesses. They get second or third jobs. They get creative. This shows that the general population refuses to participate in a recession because a recession on a personal or micro level means having to give up too much.

I no longer participate in recessions. I would suggest that you don't either. You don't have to participate. You can keep the so-called experts stumped. Just like when gas prices climbed to all time highs, many people did not universally drop their big cars, trucks or SUV's. In fact people still buy new big cars, trucks and SUV's. Sure many people need such vehicles for work but many just like the darn things.

If you feel a recession coming on in your household, then do something about it. Start a business of your own. I own two companies and I am working on a third. I have a number of books that will be published over the next 24 months. I am not saying you can write books that will become best sellers and make you millions of dollars but there are things you can do. You have to find your talent and do what interest you.

All big business today started out in someones kitchen or garage or wagon or car or truck. So the next time someone tells you that there is a recession, all you have to do is look them in the eye and say “thanks for the information but I am not going to participate.” In fact, a recession provides huge opportunity for the average person. This includes you.