HILLARY FOR PRESIDENT!!!

george bush did a good job he has gotten alot of people killed from the war and everybody is going broke thanks.

I had to read some of the comments twice to make sure we were all talking about the same thing. Some of the comments are even racist.
The numbers speak for themselfves, take all the economical factors at the end of term of ANY republican president and compare it to ANY democrat president.
If you like to see the country in great deficit, in war, poverty, struggling diplomatically to impose itself as the world police to camouflage personal interest, then vore republican. If you want the country to be seen as the only economical power, peace maker, and last hope for the free world .. vote democrat.
Please, do NOT post here your love for Bush and his administration, as you will pass for a liar or an complete retard. You cannot state that you enjoyed the ride with Bush, unless you profits from the recession like his friends.

I work in the construction industry and I believe we headed for a recession, since most eveyone on here is so high on the bush administration name one thing he has done to save this economy. He has paid for a war we should not be in, he has oil prices right where his friends want them, and the NEW JOBS HE SPEAKS SO HIGHLY ABOUT CREATING NOT ONE PERSON ON HERE COULD LIVE OFF OF THE PAY THAT GOES WITH THESE JOBS. This is the whole problem with or country now and has been forever we can't look past the bs this govt feeds us and see that we need to kick all the old career politians out of office and change our thoughts on how we run our country. Instead all anyone can do is talk about how great the guy they voted for is, well he is not great the one before him was not great and the after him will not be great until the people of my generation and my kids generation kick all you old a!@ people out of the white house and not allow you to vote for anyone over 48 years of age. If you people and the people that think there guy is or was the greast president ever tell everyone of the younger generations who wont have the benefits the old generation has now what he did to make this country better. Politicians are the reason we pay more gas, more income tax, and more for healthcare. I love my country I FOUGHT FOR IT I HATE THE ONE WHO RUN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I believe that much of what is affecting the economy adversely is the current oil prices. Currently the price is $98 per barrel. When are we going to hold the greedy oil companies and their investors accountable for their actions? Free enterprise is the American way, but we should not allow the prices to adversely affect the economy. Current oil prices are an obvious case of price gouging.

Geeze, Steinhauser, if you lived in Las Vegas the health department would be checking you for STDs with all the tricks you turn for the Democrats.

The CNN-ORC poll finds Mr. Bush's approval rating remains steady at 36 percent, but his approval rating among black Americans is just 15 percent.

Nothing at all about Congress, eh? I can just hear you moaning in Hillary's arms right now. "Ooh, yeah, baby, you're the best I've ever had."

You may not be able to look at yourself in the mirror in the morning, but at least the pay is good.

By the way, Congress' approval ratings are half that of the Nazis.

2008 Presidential Candidate Weekly Poll

http://www.votenic.com

Results posted Tuesday Evening at Midnight.

HaHa…what a knee-slapper….and we'll tell all the banks to stop telling people they have no money left in their accounts, and all the credit cards are maxed out, and there's no home equity left to borrow against, and even walmart has no jobs, and………….
Posted By r schier norwalk,ct : October 19, 2007 3:44 pm

I have a comfortable amount of cash in my savings account. My credit cards are paid up. I have equity in my house to borrow against. The Wal-Mart in town is hiring.

If your cards are maxed out and you have no savings in your account – and if you're looking for work at Wal-Mart – the problem is with you, Sir, not the economy.

Finally we get some economic reality instead of pro-business/pro-Wall Street FICTION. The U.S. economy is in awful shape. Wages are stagnant, resulting in more and more consumer debt for the rock bottom basics like food and rent.
Good jobs are being shipped overseas and we're bogged down in an enormously expensive (and hopeless) war. Amazing how we can somehow afford to rebuild Iraq, yet we can't afford to rebuild New Orleans. Does that make any sense to you?
Don't believe the 4.6% unemployment figure either. As all Americans should know, economic stats are easily doctored (especially around election time) and do not reflect economic reality. This country is in a recession. And unless you're an idle millionaire or billionaire, it's always in recession.
Hordes of illegal aliens are doing plenty of damage to our working classes as well. Both political parties are lackeys for the idle rich and corporations. What a mess!

There is a demented fringe of pseudo-economists convinced that the only difference between boom and bust times is how fanatically people cling to economic optimism. Buffoons like Neil Cavuto openly admit that their "economic analysis" is always deliberately skewed toward an overall positive picture based on some warped notion it is patriotic to be an economic cheerleader.

Perhaps there is a place for this sort of behavior, but it should -never- be passed off as news and information programming. Willful optimism is a smoke screen that obstructs useful realism. From the largest businesses to the smallest households, financial planning gets the best results when it is informed by the best available information.

Some of our present economic weaknesses (devalued currency, mortgage market chaos, etc.) are a direct result of this drumbeat of mindless optimism. Mindful realism will not always paint a dim picture, but when so many people have gone so long letting their economic outlook be shaped chiefly by their political identity, the aftermath is full of ugly truths. Real civic duty in economic journalism demands honest evaluation, not perpetual rose-colored glasses.

Well all you GOP economists – no recession heh, look at the stock market today! Corporate profits down, job down, stocks down! Yes, I know good old George and his GOP cronies stuffed a lot of PORK in the RED states over the past 6 years and with those good paying Technical Welfare jobs you all must be feeling pretty fine. Well, the wheel will turn and when we close those worthless pork barrel jobs in your districts and you have to live like the rest of America, let's see how you feel then.

"Here's an idea: if you stopped telling people the US was in a recession they might stop thinking it was!"

Posted By Brett Kottmann. Centerville, OH

HaHa…what a knee-slapper….and we'll tell all the banks to stop telling people they have no money left in their accounts, and all the credit cards are maxed out, and there's no home equity left to borrow against, and even walmart has no jobs, and………….

Well…there we go again, CNN making news out of what some people think. And then an attempt to correlate those feelings to the President's approval ratings. I prefer facts, and my read is that the economy is in pretty good shape. Oh, and our Legislative Branch of govt isn't too well-thought-of now either (worse than Mr Bush), but that's for another story.

Here's an idea: if you stopped telling people the US was in a recession they might stop thinking it was!

But then again a recession helps the Democrats in 2008, right? So a recession it will be!

Sad, so…sad.

When Hilary is elected, this reported recession will turn into rainbows and candy. The CNN Ministry of Truth will apply some doublethink, toss a few articles down the memory hole, and tell us all that her highness created the biggest boom in history. There's always a recession when a Republican is President, you fools!

Kevin, LA CA : October 19, 2007 12:26 pm

I help a non-profit charity in my spare time, and it is truly astounding to find how desperate the economy is, when most Americans can not donate even 10 dollars in a whole year to sick and dying children. Everyone seems to be bankrupt and broke.

Perhaps your charity is simply not doing what it can to pull in the dollars? Or people have decided to pay 10 dollars a year to a charity they feel is more worthy of their money.

Not every charity is equal – perhaps you should look to your selves for the blame.

Posted By Rocco, Wellington, Fl : October 19, 2007 7:30 am

Half the country thinks the USA is in recession! Let me count the ways,
Gasoline at $3 a gallon, milk at $4 per gallon crude reaching for $90 a barrel.

I just paid 2.89 for a gallon of gas, $2.50 for a gallon of milk. Whoop-te-do!

Not that prices have much to do with if you're in a recession or not, unless you compare them with prices (in adjusted dollars) for the same goods over a period of time.

Which you didn't.

All this poll measures is how is the liberial propaganda doing. Seeing most Americans get their daily news from Entertainment Tonight and the like, CNN needed to see what was the effect they were having on the public idiots who watch television. This proves that 46% of the people watch stupid programs that make them think we are in a recession. So very, very sad. And being stupid is not limited to race.

You may call the current situation whatever you want but the facts show the dishonesty and greed in our current and past governments. The wasteful spending,; the misuse of our tax money to the great deficit in the social security system; an unfair tax system; the "incentives" given to the employers of this country to send our jobs overseas and help employers to employ illegal immigrants by making a decision not to inform employers of non matching social security numbers, etc .(which cannot fuel OUR country's economy but certainly is a huge help in funding the governments of these other countries). They refuse of seal our borders leaving us vulnerable to the so called injustices that our people are dying in other countries for. There is no livable minimum wage; it is impossible for anyone but the wealthy to afford insurance, healthcare, medication, etc; and not but least the largest American debt so far. How can we expect to trust ANYONE currently representating us. Checking the incumbent's voting records will show exactly where their priorities stand and with the lack of term limits in congress, why would they care what we think. They seem to be pretty comfy and cozy with their current positions. And afterall, we the people who pay their salaries, have let this go way to long. If you think this country is not in serious trouble, maybe you should look around.

The liberal comments here are funny.

They basically all state, "Well, yes, we're not TECHNICALLY in a recession, but it feels like it." Well, I'd say, your feeeeeeeeeeeelings are wrong.

I swear, if you handed these people a glass 98 percent full of water, they'd bemoan the fact that it's "2 percent empty."

Apparantly to these people, behind every silver lining is a cloud.

It's like discussing happiness with Eeyore. They're called anti-depressants, my liberal friends… you really should look into taking some.

I help a non-profit charity in my spare time, and it is truly astounding to find how desperate the economy is, when most Americans can not donate even 10 dollars in a whole year to sick and dying children. Everyone seems to be bankrupt and broke.

And just who in our country is responsible for informing the people of the truth of the situation that we have been in an economic expanision since November 2001?

That would be the press! Oh wait, CNN is part of the press. When is the last time CNN ran a story that explained the truth of the current state of the economy?

I find it interesting that so many of the comments here are posting (correctly) that we are not in a recession. It seems to me that this is proof that the people who are even mildly knowledgable about our economy are reading articles on our economy. The 46 percent of Americans who (according to this poll) believe that we are in a recession are not represented here. The intelligent people of America continue to educate themselves and stay abreast of the news, the ignorant masses do not, the proof is in the pudding (or the polling, as the case may be).

Only a reputhug would think the country is not in a recesion. Stupid single cell bush-bots can't figure the truth out because they are right wingers.
Bush and his republiKKKan supporters ruined the country, clinton fixed what raygun and daddy bush did.

Remember, that the only conservative CNN has on air is Glen Beck. I watch his show nightly.
CNN reaches only 501,000 viewers:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6486263.html

So, CNN is a non factor. It appeals to the left wing MoveOn.org crowd.

Bottom line: only a tiny audience,ergo,who cares what they do/say.

What half is that CNN? The half that you allow to comment and agree with you?

I don't believe the 36% number on Bush is accurate so why would I even listen to this crap about a Recession. The fact is polls do not give us any accuracy because those sampled aren't clearly defined and the results are often weighted by the types of questions asked which may have nothing with the representation of those results by the media.
Bush is a horrible president and its clear that a large marjority are totally fed up with his administration and policy.

Well, James from AZ. Didn't take you long to chime in and get a jab in about Hillary.

I have NEVER seen a "man" so scared of a woman before.

I hope she kicks b*tt in '08 just to tick off right-wing nut jobs like you.

Where are your website references? Are you forming your opinions YOURSELF now? Wow, you are a BIG BOY now!!!

In a market where stocks are the only exchanged or traded commodity and so must exist as a physical unit such as treasury bonds or currency notes, raw materials, or final consumer product units—in a market where all investments were made directly in a treasury note as a pre-taxation release– when charity was a donated exchange without the possibility of taxation which rates against a personal record of fines– and when and if taxation of the public trust only existed when a service was truly rendered, when and if some public service was assured to be in existence so fulfilling duty, or when a consumer purchases a final use product: the poor and the rich would pay an equally taxed percentage. The rich might even pay more for their standard of living as they would be assigned and expected to pay a great many more licensing and processing fees from the services they receive as land owners and when consuming luxury goods; fees for services and goods which would then possibly be taxed to a premium; and, all this when vices are at a higher tax rate, so set appropriately for its destructive potential with a currency that is taxed with its sale and again on its exchange as purchases with cash verse debit are not recorded.

One will inevitably die, and so will take a leave from all processions; one can only truly afford privacy. In a world where Billionaires are national leaders and Millionaires are District Managers, and few inherits a life-style that can be maintained without employment.

Investment is still an important measure as a right of personal control. Three banks: one Federal, one held by the individual State, and one divided for the States Districts allows Senators of that Federal, State, or District level to remove universally marked investment funds for new ‘local’ projects, while a corporate banks investment brokerage agents allow the public as an investing citizen the right to select what projects will be invested in and of which level Federal, State or District the projects are gauged for. The free public investment secured and provisional only after the investment Portfolio’s of a determined project have been approved by the appropriate Senate of interest.

Half the country thinks the USA is in recession! Let me count the ways,
Gasoline at $3 a gallon, milk at $4 per gallon crude reaching for $90 a barrel. What more do you need? Oh, mortgage foreclosures at 16 year records, housing slump at 16 year low, 3 million US manufacturing jobs lost overseas since Bush took over this country. Any other questions?

I have a question for all those "why do they report this poll and not back it up with hard data about economic realities" folks. Where were you when this "liberal media" was aflutter with polls about the danger from Iraq, a danger that was never supported by anything remotely plausible in physical reality? If only you all had the courage to be critical of media sensationalism when it was aiding and abetting a criminal conspiracy to drag this nation into a protracted and bloody distraction from real counterterrorism operations, we might not now have quite the same sort of monster debt that drives down the value of the dollar and drives up the likelihood of genuine setbacks in the realm of American productivity.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am SICK of the constant use of the terms liberal, conservative, left & right. We have all been reduced to something less than human by the tactics both sides use to get what they want. I think neither side can see the forest for the trees, facts and figures have been spun so much, very few people know the truth about anything anymore. Nothing will get better until both sides can set aside their hatred and work together. If we had acted like this in WW2 we would all be speaking german and japanese. Sometimes I am ashamed to call myself an American.

Pardon to Ken……Touche! on your media comment. EXAAAACTTLY!

I see alot of cars, alot of shoppers, alot of Airline traffic and alot of construction, etc. Recession!PAAALEESE!When Taxes hit "EVERY" American and Taxes hit "Every" Business and Hillary gives 5000.00 to every Baby born(nice work on buying votes)and the USA goes "Social"….USA was meant for people to work not free ride. Business owners…small or large..get taxed to the max…how are they expected to hire? Tax the Rich(Personal or Businesses)? There will be no rich to hire. Is that so hard to understand.WE ARE THE USA….WE WILL SURVIVE! thats what we do! Come on people….dont buy the Hillary BS.

This story is ridiculous just like the other polling which Clinton News Network showed that majority are not opposed to deporting illegal immigrants.
Just based on the comments on this article, you can see that majority of Americans think that we are NOT in recession.
Similarly Majority of Americans(78%) want Illegals to be deported and oppose Amnesty in any form even if CNN tells otherwise.

I love to hear people on the right talk about how bad the economy would be if a democrat was in charge. Following is a post WWII list of the best economic performances compiled by that bastion of left-wing liberalism, forbes magazine:

Bill Clinton
Lyndon B. Johnson
John F. Kennedy
Ronald Reagan
Gerald R. Ford
Jimmy Carter

As you can see, the top three performing presidents were, gasp, democrats. No doubt, we are not technically in a recession. What has been widely reported, recently, is that we have the largest income gap since the 1920's. So yes, 10% of americans are doing very well. Those that have capital or are part of the executive suite of corporations. The rest of us, those who have to use their skills or back, in order to earn a living are not doing quite as well. Wages have been flat or declining for us since about 2000. Clinton added roughly 25 million jobs, many of them high paying white-collar jobs. Bush, maybe half that – if you believe the numbers – most of these are low paying service positions. What CNN is reporting is what 90% of us are experiencing. Here in the Midwest houses are being foreclosed at a tremendous rate. Probably 2 out of 10 house per block are for sale and sit empty for years without being sold. Part of Bush's ownership society no doubt. Bush has burned through $3,000,000,000,000 in just six years and has nothing tangable to show for it from my perspective. I could go on, but you just would not get it. So you righties can continue to live in your dreamworld, while the rest of us pray for 1/20/2009 – the end of an error.

CNN is the Propaganda Wing of the Democrat National Committee, and Mr. Paul Steinhauser gets his stories directly from Howard "The Scream" Dean. The American Economy is several times stronger than at any time during Bill "The Pointer" Clinton's term.

Could it be that personal experience might be what the voters are reporting?

Wall Street is not Main Street. For many workers, what makes Wall Street happy is not always what is best for the wage slaves of the United States.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/12/the_skinny/main3360511.shtml

The Richest 1 Percent Of Americans Taking Home Almost A Quarter Of The Pie

Meanwhile, the median tax filer's income fell 2 percent between 2000 and 2005, to $30,881. Median, of course, means half of Americans earn less than that.

Many of us struggle to make stagnant wages keep up with the ever increasing cost of everything. And I'm not talking about play things like cars and big-screen televisions and computers.

I'm talking about food prices, gas prices, utility bills. Health care? What health care?

I'm happy for those who have no financial worries but plenty of hard working families are struggling out here in the real world.

When people see nothing but financial struggle in their own lives and the lives of their friends and relatives, it is quite an easy assumption to believe that everyone is struggling.

It depends on where you are at on the economic ladder. In Indiana jobs that were paying $8.00- $8.50 per hour when Bush became President now pay minimum wage. I'm sure that the people working these jobs feel that the Republicans put them in a recession. At the same time the former Republican controlled congress was passing legislation guaranteeing themselves an automatic 41/2% annual pay raise they were also doing everything possible to defeat any attempt to raise the minimum wage. I guess the people on the lower end of the economic ladder are in a recession caused by the Republicans.

Unfair! My two comments about the data at the link above (Http:/www.shadowstats.com/cgi-bin/sgs/data) were deleted.

The data at the site is patently ridiculous. Who could believe that GDP has declined over the last 25 years and that CPI is around 10%.

Why was this deleted?

I don't believe we are currently in a recession but if oil prices continue to climb I look for a recession worldwide. This would cause hardships for a while but it is probably the only thing that will break the Bush oil cartel

It appears that the “journalists” at CNN have been infected with Bush Derangement Syndrome. The only cure is to listen to El Rushbo 12pm-3pm est. Monday-Friday. Good luck!

The economy is in the dumps, and we have our inept administration to thank for that.

I think you should do an article on the stupidity of Americans. This is hard proof that almost a majority of Americans are stupid.

It's hard to believe that an organization calling itself The National Bureau of Economic Research (which sounds very quantitative) would define a recession so ambiguously as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months". It sounds more like a journalist's definition who is trying to slant a story.

When the economy is bad, we lower taxes to stimulate the economy (Reagan and Bush 43 tax cuts lead to growing economy). Once the economy is growing again, we raise taxes without hurting the economy (Bush 41 and Clinton increased taxes and the economy continued to grow). With the economy that we have now, the tax cuts that are set to expire in a couple of years should not hurt the economy. However, with the MSM beating up the economy every chance they get, if these tax cuts are allowed to expire, the Republicans are being given a free box to stand on to support lowering taxes even more. Thanks MSM!

Interesting note… Story is filed under Economy and President Bush. Must be Bush's fault! The story is so sad and juvenile it's almost not worth commenting on.

For all of you who are saying the average American is uneducated because s/he can not give a definition of a recession…Just because they can't give you an exact definition does not mean there is no recession. For the average American a recession is when my money doesn't go as far as it used to. When it costs a day's worth of pay to fill the gas tank of my vehicle. When milk costs $4+ a gallon and my family drinks 3-4 gallons a week. When I'm juggling my money to make ends meet. My family income is more now than it was while Clinton was in office, but it doesn't seem to go as far as it did then. Pres. Bush always points to the fact that more people than ever own their own homes now. There ae also record numbers of foreclosures today. A booming economy? I don't think so.

One thing I find particularly interesting in this series of comments is the number of people who claim superior knowledge of this subject, yet are unable to use proper grammar or spell words like "resecion" correctly. I wonder how many of those people, who also tend to extol the importance of forming one's own opinion as opposed to accepting the views of other sources prima facie, actually formed their own opinions about the state of the American economy.

Ok, so someone explain something to me. Everyone knows that this article is false on its face, so why is this occupying space on the CNN.com website? When this is so obviously bad information, why wouldn't an editor just pull this article?

Answer: This is not a real news source. It is PROPAGANDA for the unnerving idea that someday, they will have a Democrat in office who will benefit from CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS & PBS.

Do yourselves a favor and don't watch those channels – it's not news if it's not true. You might as well pick up an issue of the Enquirer. At least that's entertaining.

Don't you think it to be important to include in the article the fact that real GDP has been steadily increasing for years and that there is no economic data that supports the opinion that we are in a recession. I guess that does not fit the agenda.

All right, all right, we are not in recession AS YET. But, be aware of the fact that our trade deficit is phenomenal and getting worse. For the first 3-Q of 2007, our deficit with China is US$163.8 Billion. That's only with China, everyone. Can't we tell that sooner or later, if we do not improve our economics policy, recession is landed on our homeland.

Well, wait until we really have a recession (and it will come)….Then this argument will be moot….Since many whites and most blacks already believe that we are there, they can concentrate on something else…like locating Russia on a map….

It is amazing only half the people think we are in recession with articles like these. You state your finding (fair enough), define what a recession is, but then fail to inform the readers we are not in recession. Intead, you let the readers assume that because many in the poll "felt" we are in recession, we are in fact in a recession.

You are either morons for drawing such a conclusion or purposely misleading the readers. Which is it?

Gross domestic product has increased almost 50% under this administration. Federal tax revenue is at an all time high. Employment is at an all time high. Inflation, taxes, and interest rates are at historical lows, and yet CNN can find a poll that says the "sky is falling".

I have to agree with what one of the guys said, The US is doing well in spite of high oil prices and if we can find a way to bring those down, this economy will really boom. Honestly in my opinion the price of Gas is my only concern as of late.

CNN has done their part spinning economic news under Republican management as "bad" while the same economy with a dem President would be cast as "roaring". And they're surprised at the ignorance they have fostered?

I would like these people to explain to me how the deficits are shrinking while we wallow in a recession? What is really scary is these people vote!

All you conservatives sound a might bit defensive about the article. I don't believe we are in a recession by definition either, but it's clear that people's paychecks are not going nearly as far as they use to. I guess you wouldn't mind a $3/gallon republican registered only surcharge on your gas fill-ups to pay for the Iraq war since you feel it is still affordable.

Economics has changed.

Yes, the economy is doing better, but only for a select few. And, that slect few few will do anything, and I do mean ANYTHING to stay in power.

Boy, if only half of Americans were as intelligent and informed as most of you brilliantly insightful commenters are, America would be much better off…stop blowing yourself for a couple minutes about how ignorant people are and about how liberal the media is you might be able to take the article for what it's worth; another indication that millions of people are sick of the entire polarized political atmosphere, which includes Bush and Co. as well as Congress. The country has big problems, nothing is getting done and the middle class is paying the price…for all of you who think everything in the country is rosey and prosperous, come on out to Michigan and check out our booming economy you elitists

It saddens me that one has to conclude from the exchange above that the right wing has decided that bad news for them must not simply be spun as a "liberal conspiracy", but that they must also degrade those who happen to disagree with them. It doesn't make a wit of difference whether we are formally in a recession in true economic terms or not – we need to be concerned that homeowners are (and should be) worried that the current turmoil in mortgage markets may potentially impact the value of their homes…and may spill into other parts of the economy as well. Hmmmm….I'm not an economist…but doesn't The Conference Board release monthly reports on the Consumer Confidence Index for that very reason?

Dear CNN, I used to watch your channel for the current news, however, I now will not even consider watching, even for one moment, your disgraceful agenda driven newcasts. You have become the voice for the DNC just as Pravda was the voice of the late Soviet Union.

We havn't been in a recession since March 2001, and it only lasted 2 or 3 quarters.

Well the Bushies are out, are we in a recession maybe not but folks, it ain't all good. The middle class is earning less than they did 8 years ago. Manufaturing jobs are moving over to our best friends Communist China. So you can buy your gameboy for $50.00 and your levies foe $40.00, Be proud America, we used to lead the world in innovation and manufacturing. Pay attention, the US dollar has plumited on the world market, we import more than we export and the god of all presidents is spending your tax dollars like a drunk sailor and you Bushies think that makes sense with no end in sight. Stop blaming Clinton for everthing from 9/11 to the price of low fat milk.

As Usual the liberal Media has the public fooled. If this were the case of recession, why has the cost of living remained low and how is it that my IRA investments have been doing so well? I can uderstand why the public beeives this because time and time again the news reports always spelled doom and gloom on the economic reports.

Thanks to the disastrous war in Iraq requested by Israel that Bush has got us stuck in we are in a recession. Our health care is terrible, our housing is terrible, our education is terrible, our budget is meager, and Bush does not care about all that. All he cares about is Israel. But this recession is nothing with the one that we will be getting if Giuiliani or Clinton become president. Israel is already begging us to start another war with Iran and both of these candidates seem eager to help Israel with one more war that will drag us down. They are traitors, please America, wake up. Let not fascist zionism hijack our policies!!

"Liberal democrats on the other hand want to censor any outlet saying things that are not liberal, will never even consider a thought, view, or fact that contradicts their ideology, and really are just interested in existing in a liberal democrat echo chamber. The funny part of it all is that liberals then call themselves tolerant and open-minded."

This is really an unnecessary characterization which can only subtract rather than add to intelligent conversation. Such generalizations have been very lucrative for entertainers and straw man builders on talk radio, but let's face it, pretty much the lowest form of political debate – if it can be judged as a debate at all.

Certainly culling news and opinion from many sources is important, but let's not forget to bring along an objective mind, or at least try.

I would agree that probably the majority of folks out there do not know the true definition of recession. I wouldn't go so far as to call such a person an idiot or the equivalent, which seems to be the prevailing opinion of the commenters posting here.

I'm oddly disturbed by all of this.

umm.. really if you're saying that we are in a recession because we have a dollar that has a low value versus the euro and pound.. then you really havent ever taken much more than a basic economics course. Having an undervalued dollar in our current global economic position and the new developing nation manufacturing/industrial age…an undervalued dollar is exactly what we are going for. Our government is doing this purposely to make our goods more appealing to other nations, thus increasing our exports and bringing in more money.The goal is to get us in to markets we previously weren't in, drive down the price of our goods so that we have a niche in many of the markets (maybe not a monopoly but definitely drive down the success of foreign competitors) and then get our dollar value to rise once again…thereby lowering our trade deficit (which by the way has recently dropped this quarter by substantial numbers)

Oldest political trick in the book. In the run up to the election, the party not in power uses all of it's resources to convince people how "bad" their lives are. They can then pose as the "saviors." Since we are talking about the Clinton News Network here, what do you expect? For the person who questions why so many apparent Fox News fans enter comments on CNN, it's quite simple. We are studying the twisted minds of the liberal freak show. In our non-government school educations, we learned to examine the traits of the enemy, ever watching for new "twists." CNN's ultra-liberal bias is so extraordinarily evident, it's like watching a train wreck.

Whoa, are any of you guys aware that economic news comes out months late?

To all the previous commenters here that stated that we are not in recession, it is a fact, why did you not report that we are not in a recession and these 46% are below avg intelligence, stupid, blah,blah,blah.
A recession can only be called AFTER the fact genius and so it is still an open question and a well known Survey of Professional Forecasters were asked in June 2001 whether the economy had entered a recession and 93% had said NO. We entered that last recession in March of 2001!! But don't let the facts get in your way. Keep spewing your ignorant bs.

Democrats keep saying we are in a recession because they are hoping we DO have a recession, so they can, as usual, Blame-Bush.

We add jobs every quarter and our growth never stops. Unemployment is at historical highs. Great recession!

Yes I'm white. I also don't " Hate bush ". Somewhat dissapointed, sure. However thats the difference. People who blame-bush for everything will have a negative view of everything else going on also.

Imagine that.

Friends, You all argue a definition of "recession". In truth, economics is little more than an intuitive Leap of Faith, a good educated guess using arbitrary indicators that can slant the View of the future in the direction of your predescribed beliefs. Shamans used to use bones to describe the future of thier tribes. Maybe you should start paying attention to the Restaurant Industry. This is the industry hardest hit by any economic swing; wether, good or Bad. It is the "miners canary" for the economy. Ask yourself, are you going to out to eat? How much are you spending in your local restuarant?
I have an economics degree, and I own a restuarant. Large corporations are not an adequate measure of our Economy, but you keep believing the Spin. I have on average 10 people with great educations asking for Serving positions everyday. People from the realestate industry, teachers, contractors, and Retail industries. I am not talking about young college students, i am talking about middle aged hard working Americans!! Go to your local indepently owned restuarant and ask them how they are doing with the rise in energy costs, the rise in food costs, and the increase insurance costs. Not to mention that as the cost producing food has gone up, people have stopped spending. That is the measure of a recession…are people spending thier money. Do they have expendable incomes to dole out. Or are they simply buying in bulk and eating at home. Don't be foolish from your glass houses, becuase they are supported by the foundation of the Service industry, and if goes down, so will everything else.

so the liberal media is responsible for the fact that people don't understand economics? And it's also their fault that some polls have over 60 percent of americans believing the bible is the direct word of god? Oh by the way, Matt Drudge and Rush Limbaugh never exaggerate or distort facts, thats why their RIGHT wing. And if you believe anything I have said, than also let me tell you indiana is the home of the most intellectual development in the union.

The reason some of you do not know there is a recession is because you either work for the government, a school teacher. doctor or nurse etc. The rest of the population knows that most of USA has been in a recession for several years now and it does not look to get better as long as Bush continues to throw our tax dollars into a quagmire of Iraq. When we quit starting fights and stay home and mind our own business..America will get strong again. The rest of the world laughs at us stupid Americans.

Still more insecure CNN/Dem and cheerleading spin.

http://www.bea.gov/bea/papers/grimm.pdf

This paper shows that there have been 10 recessions since WW2 with the latest one coming in 2001.

I bet the same 50% couldn't define "recession." Now that would be an interesting poll. After you ask the person if he or she thinks we are in a recession, ask him or her to define "recession."

Oh my God!!!!!

The cost of buying homes is decreasing!! How horrible! Now, families that could not afford owning a home may have a chance. Nooo!!!!

Well…just goes to show ya, all conservatives think about is themselves! Agreed: we are NOT in a recession, as defined by economists. But the truth of the matter is that while the economy has continued to expand, it has not trickled down to the average working-class family. If you were to look at the year-to-year change in REAL median earnings over the past several years, the last time there was GROWTH in real median income was in 2004, and in the period from 2000-2006, the ONLY group that saw an INCREASE in the real average household income was those in the upper 20%. So, while the actual numbers have been going up, the buying power, with the dollar the weakest its been in recent memory, has actually declined. Get a clue folks!

If Congress has an approval rating of ~11%, and Bush is at ~36%, that means President Bush is 3 times more popular than Congress. Where's that headline?

Well what would you expect from a poll run the by Clinton News Network! It was a fixed poll with rigged questions. If you believe anything from CNN or MSNBC you need to seek therapy, immediately!

Is there anything lazier than a poll reported as news? And the headline, are you kidding me? How about, POLL: Majority think US not in Recession. Can you twist the poll any more? I mean 51% DON'T think we're in recession, 46% DO, and you with the 'nearly half' headline. Pathetic, sad, transparent, biased reporting.

Recession is a matter of perspective and cannot be specifically be defined by most Americans simply because, with all talk about the four phases of the economic cycle aside, it is a relative FEELING RATHER THAN A MOMENT. Any definition that I would personally assign would be as true, relative and valid to me as Mr. Bush's definition would be true, relative and valid to him. Quite frankly, I will place more faith in my definition because I certainly do not believe for a moment that Mr. Bush is at all concerned with my prosperity, or yours.

I get confused when we poll people on facts. A recession is a measurable economic condition, is it not? If more people think we are in a recession, does that figure in determining whether we are in a recession or not? Is this article an exposition of American ignorance? Why not find out how many Americans can identify the Democratic Republic of the Congo on a map? Are black people more or less ignorant of that fact? Polls are more straight forward when they reflect opinion, not facts.

Yes, things have looked rosy for some time…so what…the whole sham is being supported by toothpicks…yeah, a
weak dollar makes exported goods cheaper, but too bad we produce very little these days to export…I wonder what those unemployment figures would look like if they counted everyone out of work, not only those actively looking…the only reason we have any economy at all at this point, is that there are still a few various reasons for those holding the massive amounts of debt, to support the dollar..once dollar collapses, everything will go down with it…the intrinsic value of the dollar will have to catch up with it sooner or later…"wealth" has been created out of close to nothing but "paper" for a little too long…we should be developing alternative energies, and dusting off our manufacturing capabilities….doing something "real"…we won't be able to afford the rest of the world supplying us with almost every material thing we need, when the dollar ceases to have any worth…the only truly happy ones are those who sold everyone else out and raked up from it…there's either a whole lot of them writing on this board, or I don't know whose side they're on….

The National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP (Gross Domestic Product), real income, employment, industrial production and wholesale-retail sales."
Here could be very good reasons as some would like to push US over a cliff right into this economic decline.

The deployment of American jobs to cheap foreign labor markets threatens not only hundreds of millions of legal American working people and their families, but also our already established American way of life. With the pay raises of corporate CEOs at historic personal economic gains and job creation at the lowest level since the stock market crash and the depression of the 1930’s, and corporate America raiders of the lost market are blasting down our borders in search of the cheapest, lowest-price, unskilled, uneducated labor available anywhere on our planet.

For the first time in history on earth, big business corporations are finding ways of dumping off loyal Americans and their families from already established well-paying employment opportunities and their overwhelming greed is now replacing honest Americans with illegal migrant criminals that are accepting a lesser wage. A recent study revealed that 14 million American jobs are now at risk of being outsourced overseas using low-paid foreign uneducated, lower skilled workers.

Make no mistake about it, corporate America is not doing all this alone: Big business and Washington are in cahoots, trading our nation's livelihood for short-term gain and Lou Dobbs's bold new book takes dead aim. This is a startling call to arms and should take matters to achieve a much needed invaluable prescription for dealing with all the issues.

And here is why I only read CNN if it's linked from elsewhere. NOT MENTIONED IS THE FACT THAT WE ARE NOT IN A RECESSION! And haven't been for years. By most measures, economy is strong. Not that I expect "journalism" from CNN, but come on.

I am happy to see there are some informed people in this country! The media portrays everything negatively and the majority of people listen to it without even thinking about it. Just like all other mainstream media, throwout whatever negative information, whether its true or not, and see who latches on and runs with it. I would like to see some poll information data to back up these numbers. And how is race even an iussue in this? You wonder why the democrats want to make you feel like you can't survive without their help, all we need is some more great government programs similar to our successful social security program! Keep it up mainstream and we can all suffer together in a socialistic state before you know it!

The fact is most people consider that the economy is in a recession based on THEIR OWN SITUATION. It's not CNN that causes people to think this, it's when they can't pay their mortgage or milk costs more or gas costs more. As a quick aside, anyone who uses the Dow as a benchmark for the health of the economy apparently thinks that the performance of 30 stocks is a large enough sample size to encompass all economic activity. I'd like to add that foreign investors may not think that we're in a recession but they are certainly getting out of dollars as fast as they can. So, believe what you want, it really doesn't matter matter if it's called a recession or not, I'm far more concerned that the government is digging us into a hole with deficit spending that will be incredibly difficult and expensive to get out of.

to 'TLR' from SmallTown Indiana:

We have not had "incredible" economic growth over the past 3-4 years, just mediocre growth.
We also have a massive trade deficit, the government is technically bankrupt We're 73rd in the world for equality, and real wages have risen slower than normal.

Most economists these days will tell you that there is more to having a healthy economy than just a decent growth rate.

And P.S.- I don't recall ever being told by the "LEFT WING" media that my life is awful.

Subsequently asked to define recession, respondents said "Duhhhhhh."

How about when Jimmy Carter was in office. High unemployment; mortgage rates were over 15%, and sergeants in Army were on food stamps. That was a REAL recession.

Posted By Dr Michael Williams : October 18, 2007 2:41 pm

Libs reflect on the Carter and Clinton years fondly as the best years of their lives. Carter was nothing but a bumbling idiot who did not achieve a single thing during his presidency. Clinton drained the military to balance the budget which we are now paying for as we need to fight the War on Terror. In the end, people vote their pocketbooks and with a strong economy, that spells bad news for Hillary, hence the sham story.

Something just don't add up. Subprime disasters, wars with no end in sight, nearly $900b borrowed money every year, $9 trillion national debt, US dollar all time low against other major currencies, and the economy is still in good shape?

Interesting.

A recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.
Maybe the question should have been : "Do you know the definition of the word 'Recession'?"

Wynter – Loudon, NH

The folks you see criticizing this article are folks who are tired of the Media spinning bogus stories. Factually – CNN assertion is completely wrong! If the article was about "Consumer Confidence" – fine, but the emphasis on American's THINKING we're in a recession and not reporting the FACT we are not is bogus.

I'm not a fan of high gas prices… but the FACT is – today's prices when adjusted for inflation are on par with historical prices – The price of $1.35 in 1981 works out to $3.15 in current dollars.

Housing market – for those of us who aren't attempting to "flip" houses – who really cares about prices?? I have a great low 30-yr fixed rate (5.75) and I'm not planning to sell. THANKS PRESIDENT BUSH – and I'm not even a Wall Street executive!

Lastly – if you're bent about prices going up but not seeing one dime in income – voting for Hillary & Co is the WRONG choice. After she gets done with her social agenda.. One Dime is all you'll be left with.

What purpose does it serve to rely on an outdated and scholarly description of the economic state of the country? Who cares what the GDP is doing, when people cannot pay their bills.

As for the numbskull out there who asked "who would submit a resume for a $10 an hour job?" I am just betting that you are pretty young. Check back in when you are 47 and the company you have been working for, successfully, decides they want a younger, cheaper version of YOU.

If it walks like a duck, and sounds like a duck……

PS – Right before the stock market crash in '29, people were living high on the hog and having a great time. Think about it.

If you think we are not in recession, just wait a few more months. If you think we have such a great economy going, you obviously don't realize the serious effects of the sub priime mortgage meltdown.

Many think that the financial problems at the banks is limited to the sub prime issue. What most don't realize is the same entities (Moodys & S&P)that gave the AAA rating to the sub prime mortgages, did the same thing on corporate bonds issues. You think you pensions are safe? Guess who else bought many of those sub prime secuities products and bonds. It wasn't just banks.

In the next year 100s of billions of adjustable rate mortgages will reset. The vast majority of those borrowers will not be able to make those higher payments. Most buyers put very little or nothing down. Since properties have dropped in value approx 5% in the past year, these properties will no longer appraise for the outstanding loan amount, forclosure is the only possible outcome.

We are struggling at this stage of the sub prime process, with the upcoming wave of additional forclosures, we are not going to be talking about recessions, the word will be depression.

Recession? Come to Michigan and you can almost see a full blown depression. And even as the dollar weakens, the work still does not come back to the U.S. Why is that I wonder? And no, I'm not a laid off auto worker. CNN…are you going to censor me yet again?

Poll: More than half think U.S. is not in recession

More than half of Americans feel the U.S. economy is growing, according to a survey released Thursday.

The poll found that 51 percent of Americans hold that belief, while 46 percent don't.

White citizens were more optimistic than blacks, findings show.

–

I know first hand from speaking with a few of my "black"(they aren't the color black we(humans) just refer to them by that label for some reason) friends about politics all the time that they believe we are in recession, I'm "white." They also dislike Bush vehemently.

Personally I do not believe we are in recession, I also do not care for Bush but I believe he has done well for the economy. Considering all we have been through this past decade the economy is doing very nicely.

If taxation only existed when a service was truly rendered, some public service was assured to be in existence, or when a consumer purchases a final use product, the poor and the rich would pay an equally taxed percentage. The rich might even pay more as they would be assigned and expected to pay a great many more license and processing fees from the services they receive as land owners and consumed luxuries; fees for services which would then also be taxed. Vices are at a higher tax rate, set appropriately for its destructive potential as a threat to society.

"I don't get it. All the comments here are complaining about this story and how CNN is a horrible news outlet and CNN is so "liberal", etc. Then why do all these people log on to CNN and read their news stories?? Does Fox News' site link to CNN or something?"

Great question, you see conservatives view a whole variety of different sources and different political opinions because we want to make sure that what we believe is right. We want to hear all sides and get as much information as we can to make sure that we are right, and if the facts show we are not, then we re-evaluate our beliefs and make sure that they are sound in facts.

Liberal democrats on the other hand want to censor any outlet saying things that are not liberal, will never even consider a thought, view, or fact that contradicts their ideology, and really are just interested in existing in a liberal democrat echo chamber. The funny part of it all is that liberals then call themselves tolerant and open-minded.

The right is right for a reason.

Let's have a poll and see how many people that think we're in a recession also think that CNN is the Most Trusted Name for News.

Who cares whether or not Americans "think" there is a depression? And frankly, if they do it is because you guys at CNN have been telling them that lie for the last 5 years!

There are clear economic indicators as to whether or not any country is in recession. Last I cehcked, it did not matter whther people "felt" that they were in an economic recession, it mattered whther or not the GDP was indeed receding.

You are really willing to do anything to undermine our nation, so long as your guy isn't in the white house.

There were 83 posts on this blog when I read this article. Out of 83 posts only 11 think that the U.S. economy is in a recession (or doing poorly), thus,

NEW POLL: ONLY 13% THINKS US IS IN RECESSION. That's fair right, CNN, if you do the math?

Statistically thinking, G Sullivan, East Long, MA, is right. It does matter to the respondents how the question is worded. If the respondents were posed with a surveyor's question "Do you believe the US is in recession", then it was a loaded question and begs a voluntary response from the respondent (think about all the Bush haters out there!).

Riaz, Jersey City, NJ:

Maybe you should move to either Canada or India and experience for sure how "very well" they are doing.

Hitler nailed the "Big Lie" didn't he? Congratulations mainstream media, you've proven Hitler right!

Similarly, when the economy was tanking at the end of Clinton's administration you kept the stupid money flowing into the stock market. Thus proving the partisan nature of your lying.

Where was this story in the Spring of 2000 when William the Fornicator and his sidekick Nobel Prize winner ran the economy into recession?

It is living proof that 50% of the population is below the median intelligence level. We are near record low unemployment, record low welfare rolls, rising income in all economic levels, increasing retail sales figures, and people think we are in recession.

Americans appear to be, for the most part, without a clue about their own country. Sad.

Amazing poll considering that tax revenues are at an all time high, unemployment is down, wages are up. Just goes to prove the ignorance of most Americans on financial matters. You want to talk about recession? How about when Jimmy Carter was in office. High unemployment; mortgage rates were over 15%, and sergeants in Army were on food stamps. That was a REAL recession.

I wonder how many Americans can actually define in economic tems what a recession actually is? How many of these same people polled could define it? Nice job CNN…

willie

the missing article on whether or not we are in a recession is on the front page of the international version of CNN but is missing from the version you get in the states.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/10/18/dollar.euro.ap/index.html

the article basically says that in the last week we've had some bad economic indicators and that the economy could get worse since the new housing construction market (a huge source of jobs in the USA) is at a 14 year low. it then says that analysts believe that ben bernanke will lower interest rates to prop up the housing market but this will have the effect of further weakening the already weak dollar.

so the answer to the recession question is "depends on how you measure it". if you go by USD then economy is growing, if you measure by a more international metric then you see we are losing ground.

as for oil prices, the price is at a record high but since the price is measured in dollars and the dollar is incredibly weak, for the rest of the world the actual cost of
oil is about the same as it usually is.

as an aside you'll find that cnn.com usually puts "smart people news" in the international page and random drivel in the US edition. personally i think foreign news agencies do a better job of covering domestic news in the US than our local agencies.

To quote one of the Republican's very own heroes, Ronald Reagan, "There they go again." Republicans can't help themselves…Iraq isn't their fault, the Katrina debacle wasn't their fault, Senator Craig couldn't even admit that his behavior in the mens room was his fault! Is it any surprise that, now that the American people are expressing doubts about the economy, the GOP is looking for yet another "not me" excuse? Let's see…let's blame it on a liberal media conspiracy! When will the Republicans stop passing the buck!

Why is everything still presented in a black vs. white format? While it might be interesting to see the difference in views between different groups of people, these aren't even the two largest ethnic groups anymore.

With fifty percent pay cuts, the looting of our pensions and 40,000 laid off employees at my airline, we are in a depression, not a recession, and have been for five years. No new cars, or homes, limited vacations, just trying to survive and feed our famlies.

Wow. I would bet that less than %25 of Americans can correctly define recession. Stagflation is more accurate description of our current situation.

Wow, you've got to love CNN. The headline should have been "A majority of Americans feel positive about their economy". O wait, the're waiting for Hillary to get elected

Ya'll can speak for yourself. Aren't economic matters relative? I can speak of job scarcity in Los Angeles where I live. I can tell you that I'm in debt up to my ears. I can tell you so are most my friends and relatives. We bust our asses and we all live check to check. Look at our dollar! It's even now fluctuating at historical levels with the Canadian dollar. I see it going down even further. Could you imagine if we went to war with Iran. We're already spending billions in Iraq.

My purchasing power is so diminutive it would take all the men at Pfizer to bring it back up enough so I could participate in any kind of action! Come on now, really!

PLEASE! Must you be so obvious about your political agenda? Or are you a completely inept and unworthy journalist?

What else could be your point if you only report people's "perceptions" about our economy and not the actual economic indicators after defining a recession?

Could it be that you examined the indicators and realized the facts would disprove your political agenda?

HMMMMM. I wonder….

This is for Hank who posted…"The conservative liars and deniers will be changing their tune next year, when the economic numbers from the 4th quarter show a continuing decline as the housing crisis strengthens, corporate earnings continue their slide and inflation becomes too big a problem to continue to ignore."

Havent you guys been predicting and hoping for this recession for 6 years now?
When Clinton was president, most reps were in favor of a good economy and a successful military. When a rep is in office, you dems hope the country goes down hill so you can get back in power. How pathetic.

Notice the picture? AMerican flag with a dark shadow of a person walking..

Liberal biased trash again. Clinton News Network (CNN) polls.

Is an economic recession determined by a poll instead of objective data? My undertanding is a recession is defined by very measurable information.

So since we actually are NOT in a recession, does this mean black people are less intelligent or just more uniformed than white people? Leave it to CNN to beg the question.

I sometimes wonder if reporters (and their bosses) ever read the comments left by their readers. If you do, Mr. Steinhauser, I certainly hope you re-read your article and consider just how silly this piece really was. Even a decent high school teacher would have rejected your piece for its incompleteness, whether intentional or unintentional. I also wonder why CNN has a "Deputy Political Director" writing a piece ostensibly about the economy. I don't like Bush, but I hate misinformation and slanted journalism.

I'm sure the economy has had a great GDP. The problem is that GDP is measured in dollars and the dollar is historically weak right now.

I thank my lucky stars that I'm being paid in euros right now.

I think to get a fair result if we are really in recession or not is to ask at least 1000 prefessional economists rather than just ordinary people who even don't know what the recession is. I am pretty much sure CNN even didn't ask the participants what a recession really is.

With simple and seen facts of Dow Jones over 14,000 (never happened before in US history), how come people say that we are in recession? It's true that the dollar weakens against Euro and Yen, but not only the number doesn't really count for a recession, but also it's good to boost our export. And it's just a matter of time, the dollar will regain its strength.

Surely, all the media that are mostly lean to the left never want to tell the truth and the fact. It's always looking for the bad sides of Republicans. Very unfair. I'm very frustrated with all these media which are not supposedly biased. But my faith says the truth will never be destroyed no matter how much they try to destroy it.

@ Richard Allen in New York

Maybe you have that problem because you live in New York City. Go almost anywhere else in America and you'll have the opposite problem. Businesses elsewhere are struggling to find qualified employees to support their growth.

That's the problem with basing your political opinions on the personal experiences of you and your acquaintances rather than objective data.

What CNN intentionally forgot to reveal from the poll result is only 36 percent of respondents could accurately define what a recession is.
Headline should read "POLL: 64 percent of Americans are dumb when it comes to recession"
Nice try CNN your lies aren't working

I do not know what is worse, the frightenly lack of economic understanding by most US citizens or the obvious left leaning media that feeds them the all the gloom and doom in one of the best economies in history. In either case it is a very scary situation.

This article represents the worst of the American news media. This is not an opinion issue! CNN, you're not just mixing opinion with facts, you're carefully avoiding objective facts entirely in favor of pure opinion poll worship.

Listen, I'm no fan of Bush, but lets not delude ourselves into thinking that everything about America is terrible while he's in office. The economy is doing pretty well. There's some areas we need to keep an eye on of course, but these people who think we're in a recession are just ignorant.

I was taught in college that a recession was a downturn in the GNP for two consecutive quarters? Get it right CNN . You are like when Reagan included the military on his job rolls to inflate the jobs rate.

I think the bigger question is not "what is a recession" but how do we as consumers feel about the state of the economy.Whether we are experiencing a recession based on the exact definition is irrelevant. What I know as the primary shopper for my family is that everything I buy has gone up and there's no end in sight.
Most people are not economists and don't want to know the exact definition of recession or depression. We want to know that we can continue to feed, clothe and shelter our families and still save a little for our retirments.

Of course we are in a recession. I have been unemployed for the last 5 months for the first time in 25 years. Two of my immediate neighbors are out of work also. We are all highly educated but can't find jobs. Many others I know are also out of work. I think President Bush has done a great job but that doesn't change the fact that our economy is hurting big time despite the attempts to pretend it isn't. Just imagine how bad it would be if a democrat was in the white house!

I'll use an example to see how we get this view from the pollies. Our media can (over time) get any answer they wish to have — it's all about the daily delivery angle of the news, and it about how the polls are conducted.

An example:

When it comes to Charlie Gibson, and his friends in this "we hate everything about Republican administrations," it's not about his view of economics – rather, it's about his bias in politics.

Back, earlier this year when the DOW crossed 13,000 (as is with every good bit of news), here was his view: ""But, Betsy, we've had four years of a straight bull market. Doesn't just the timing of this suggest that there might be a correction?"

But back in Aug of 2000, when the DOW was off it's high by 1,100 points, the Nasdaq was down 58% from it's highs, unemployment claims were soaring, CA was in the midst of the Enron blamed energy crisis, the manufacturing index had been in a steep plummet and was nearing the low point in the cycle (continued down until April 2001); here's Gibson pushing the campaign of Al Gore because the economy is so strong:

"The Dow has tripled, we've gone from deficit to surplus,' and that this will give Al Gore a chance to talk about the economy, a new chance to talk about the economy." Aug 3rd, 2000.

What? The economy was dying in the moment.

Many economists, even the MSM's favorite leftist economists, like Dean Baker, were – and had been – screaming about the dangers facing Americans (especially the working class), when that bubble collapsed. The reason that the federal (and states) budget deficit would quickly swing from surpluses to huge deficits was because of the historic bubble crash; the reason millions of Americans would loose their jobs was because of what was happening in that moment.

Gibson and the MSM choose to ignore the news of what was happening, and instead, kept pushing his view of the great news simply for the purpose of keeping the Democrats in the White House. Simply put – he lied to the American people (or he is totally ignorant of the facts – take your pick.) There are hundreds of documented examples of how our media plays this game – and it is very consistent. They hide, or play down, the bad news during Democrat administrations; but during Republican administrations, they hype up bits of bad news during good times, and usually do not report the good news (or at least they find something bad to overshadow the good news.

I too think that the economy faces serious problems. I felt that way in 1999 aslo. The media told and tells a different story, however.

I would like hard numbers concerning our current economic status, however, the title says "Poll: nearly half think U.S. in a recession." it is also in the political ticker category, reserved for articles of this nature: tracking current plotical polls., not a headline news story.
That said, I do believe that CNN is biased a bit conservative, and certainly not liberal as is mostly being suggested. The news about Congress approval rating was covered by CNN, and they don't harp on it any more or less than President Bush's approval rating.
Fact is: We are in a recession. We have experienced a decline in GDP growth over the last three quaters, and the small amount of growth that we are seeing is not good enough to keep up with inflation percentage, population growth (GDP will always increase as the workforce does) and the percentage of slip US dollar, so, with all those factors figured in… the small growth numbers can't make up the difference, and basically, GDP relative to those other factors ends up in the negative.
And if you don't want my word for it, then Alan Greenspan even said that we are entering into a recession, and he is a bit more knowledgeable.

Raise my texes Dems!! That'll certainly make everything so much better…

Why is your story not balanced by the actual GDP data, which shows that there is no recession? Your story leaves the impression that there may be a recession, when in fact your story is an indictment of your own failure to adequately report the news. If you had been doing your job the group that believes there is a recession would know there is not. Maybe you should encourage the doubters to switch channels to get the facts. They won't get them from this story.

I love to read posts from everyone who says things are great. Let's see: the govt reports inflation to be low, but pulls out costs for food and energy from their calculations. Unemployment numbers dont count people who have given up, are "unemployable" after a certain number of months. We have a president who willfully violates the Constitution and no one does anything about it. We have offshored most manufacturing jobs that paid well, but the govt hasnt reduced expenses to compensate for shrinking tax base. Its ok to ship jobs to other countries for savings to corporations but citizens arent supposed to get their medications from Canada to save money. Our govt is devaluing our dollar essentially robbing all us citizens here. Wall Street and mortgage companies cooperated to sell junk securities so that real estate could be sold to those who couldnt afford it, and now that the bubble is popping, Wall Street wants to insulate those who made money from the deal from the discipline of the free market. Of course taxpayers get to pay. Dont believe me. Get on the internet and do some searches. There are plenty of non paranoid sources of info. Prepare to get angry.

Okay, let's play make believe and say we are not in a recession. Yes, for some reason we can say the country is still showing economic growth, but that economic growth is NOT making it's way down to the consumers. It is not being eaten up in taxes, it is not getting eaten up in war spending (we are warring on credit).

So from the consumers perpective we have a shoratge of well paying manufacturing jobs, we have fewer and fewer jobs that offer any type of benefits to their employees, we have energry costs that are out of sight (along with record energy profits), that effect every aspect of the national economy, from food on the table to the price of the shirt bought at Walmart. Wages have not been growing but prices have, but still we have ag rowing national economy, but we make nothing and export even less, but we have a growing economy.

So my question to all of the upper 1%ers stating their views here that the economy is great, the sky is blue and the birds are singing is what planet did you come from, because if we are experiening good econmic time right now, I want dearly to return to the gloom and doom days of the 1990's when we could still buy something for a dollar and the economy was in the toilet.

HELLO? This article is so wrong; the poll is inherently flawed, horribly presented, and ultimately worthless. First, commenters are correct in that most Americans don't know the true meaning of recession. Stupid on you CNN. Try asking them "Do you feel your paycheck is going farther, or is falling shorter in the current economy?". Stupid on you commenters for your inane posturing to rebuke the poll results – siting the true definition of recession. It's idiotic to try to debate the pointless. Shame on you CNN, siting black American statistics alone is insulting and about as meaningless as what irish setter owners might think. If you are going to site any statistical breakdowns, do it proper. Shame on you commenters for using any and everything that may differ from your opinions as a pulpit for expounding your political views. Get a clue we already know the media is as biased as your comments are. Collectively this article and comments scream what is wrong with the media and America today. Grow up people and for goodness sake, sample multiple sources of news and use your noggen to develop you own balance opinion.

Hand the keys over to Hillary and Democrats and we WILL be in a recession REAL quick!

Baby Bonds: $20 Billion /yr (not counting illegal aliens)
SCHIP Increas: $30 Billion /yr (not counting illegal aliens
401-k Govt donation: $50 Billion /yr (not counting illegal aliens)
Universal Healthcare: $100 Billion /yr (not counting illegal aliens)
Amnesty of Illegals: ???? Billions

Whine and cry about "Republicans" spending money to fight terrorists (Afghanistan/Iraq) – but the cost of the Iraq War will be pennies compared to the TRILLIONS we'll pay on these entitlement programs over the next decades!

I think what a lot of people do not understand here is effects of expectations on the economy. Part of economic theory is understanding that what people expect can have just as large or even a larger effect then what is actually happening in the economy. In other words, if people strongly believe we are headed for a recession, then they will act like we already are in one. This will in turn cause us to go into recession.

It looks like the economic "giants" of the republican party are out in droves on this article. Sheesh!

While the term Recession as defined by the Fed states that we aren't in a Recession, it should also be noted that we are not in wonderful economic nirvana either.

- Cost of Oil is approaching $100 a barrel.
- Cost of Gasoline is interestingly no longer spiking in price along with the cost of oil as it has for decades now.
(sounds like someone is trying to prevent riots in the streets.)
- Housing market is in a tailspin despite being propped up by the Fed interest rate change. Talk about "bailing out" the investors of SubPrime loans. There should be charges filed instead! Sounds like the old Savings & Loan scandals.

And through all these cost increases on products and services, we haven't seen any upward movement on middle class salaries. Only the CEOs are getting bonuses.

So if you are an executive or a wall street investor you may not see a recession, but the rest of the working class see one because we are feeling it every day as the costs go up on everything, but we aren't seeing one dime in income. Just go talk to a Gas Station Owner as ask them about whether they think they are in a recession.

Telling it like I see it,
Wynter

Maybe the liberal media judges recession by their declining ad revenues. They just haven't figured it out yet.

THE IGNORANCE DISPLAYED BY THE MSM AND THE EDUCATION IN ECONOMICS OF THE AVERAGE AMERICAN IS BASICALLY THE CAUSE OF THIS POLLS RESULTS.

THE INFORMATION IS ERRONEOUS….

Reasons for this are that hard core Dems won't admit the great economy and hard core media Dems never broadcast this list:If you are as sick of Bush bashing as I am then here is the other side: Top 30 – and counting – things W has done RIGHT: 1- Protected us – we have not been attacked again since 9/11; 2- Jobs for all, the economy is booming, greatest in history of nation, 49 consecutive months of job growth is longest in nation’s history; 3 -freed 50 MILLION people in Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. 4 – freed the black African nation of Liberia – Jesse Jackson & Al Sharpton never accomplished anything close- 5 – Lower interest rates have enabled many to afford their own homes who otherwise couldn't; 6 – *record wage growth that has also allowed record consumer spending; 7 – record low number of people joining unions which means more self-reliant citizens and better employers; 8 – IRA agreed to give up their weapons; 9 – Lybia gave up its nuclear weapons program the parts of which are now in Oak Ridge, TN; 10 – enabled millions of formerly oppressed women to pursue education, run for office, obtain jobs & professions; 11 – Turned Pakistan – a nuclear powered nation from enemy to ally; 12 – guaranteed a conservative Supreme Court for the next generation; 13 – cut taxes & attempted to eliminate the death tax but Dems won't allow it; 14attempted to privatize Social Security but Dems won't allow it; 15 – no child act has raised education excellence nationwide; 16 – inflation has been kept in check; 17 – restored strength and morale of our military; 18 – drove Syria out of Lebanon; 19 – North Korea shuts down it's nuclear program – really; 20 – stock market hits another record high and 14000 for first time in history. 21 – life expectancy reaches almost 78 which is highest in American history; 22 – American workers most productive in the world; 23 – record amount of money spent at box office (so why do you hate him, Hollywood?); 24 – North Korea gives up nuclear weapons program; 25 – Broke up the A. Q. Kahn nuclear proliferation ring; 26 – implemented a missle defense system – a major achievement by President Bush in keeping his promise to better defend his country and the citizens therein. 27 – Largest EPA settlement to reduce acid rain in U.S. history; 28 – highest sales of American export products in nation’s history; 29 – since the 2003 tax cuts, the Federal deficit has gone down by one quarter of a trillion dollars; 30 – good news on the cancer front: Death rates are dropping faster than ever, thanks to new progress against colorectal cancer.
This list, rarely visited by the media – or your profs, ranks among the most prolific of all American presidents. And he’s not done yet.
*Americans have huge reserves of disposable income: Microsoft said sales hit $170 million in the game's first 24 hours on sale in the U.S., surpassing "Spider-Man 3," which grossed $151 million in its opening weekend. "Halo 3″ sells for at least $60 a copy, while the average price of a movie ticket in 2006 was $6.55, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

Unbelievable how either gullible people are by believing the press or how simply ignorant people are. The economy is growing still, our GDP is historically unmatched, unemployment is low, we are cutting into the defecit quicker than thought possible cause of the tax cuts, the market is doing great, wages are increasing. People I know you hate GW but dont become such an idiot to believe everything these traitors I mean democrats are feeding you. If you matched our economy with the GREAT BILL CLINTON economy you would not be able to tell a difference, it is almost funny. Secondly shame on you CNN with your headline, so the 51% or the majority doesnt matter? Once again with your headline(and that is all americans usually read) you make it seem like the majority of americans think this, very misleading. My question to Black americans is this, you hate bush so much but under which president has more minorities been able to purchase a home? Now what happens to you after you purchase a home is solely up to you in making the payments and on time but come on Black america, stop being brainwashed by these crazy democrats that promise you the world for your vote and deliever nothing. WAKE UP.

What is stunning is that some people think any reported fact has a bias if you do not like it. Is the economy is recession? Nearly half say so. Is CNN a 'Democrat' channel because they report that? (If so, where were they when Gee-Duhb was selling the war in 2002,2003?).

The results do not point out that half the population knows economics and that half do not. It points out the entire sample probably selected randomly. Africans Americans scored that chances of recession were greater because they are poorer, which is partly because their leaders have convinced some there is no point in trying because 'the man' is out to get them. The whites scored the chance of recession lower because they learn they can do anything they set their mind to and they really are not wasting time and energy trying to 'get' anyone (for the most part).

Political thugs trying to stop reporting of facts – now that's something I think we can all agree is happening. This article does not state a recession is happening, it is reporting that many people believe it is happening. That so many simply do not want that story told should inform our opinion of the threat posed to the constitution and our way of life by these close-minded, unscrupulous jihadist fascists.

Nearly half of Americans allow the media to tell them what's what. Truth is, there's no recession. IF one occurs, it will be one the media precipitated.

This is the media's recession, not America's.

Wake up!

Just like the media constantly says don't buy real estate. It is a buyers market and they tell people to hold off. Subsequently I am losing my butt trying to sell legitimate investment property. They want to economy to slow so the liberals can come to the rescue in 08. They want to hurt Bush anyway they can and if they hurt average Americans in the process OH WELL !! They are against what is good for Americans. Lets talk down the economy so people can lose their jobs and business. They are idiots.

James B. Strup
Catawba NC

Wow, you can sure tell from all the ignorant comments here that this story is linked at Drudge. The conservative liars and deniers will be changing their tune next year, when the economic numbers from the 4th quarter show a continuing decline as the housing crisis strengthens, corporate earnings continue their slide and inflation becomes too big a problem to continue to ignore.

"YES WE ARE IN A RECESSION……..Or why would employers on Craigslist still get 200+ resumes for a lousy $10 hr job in Manhattan?

Plus its NO big deal anymore if 5000 people show up at Walmart for 350 jobs….thats 'JUST NORMAL" TODAY.

That is a sign of economic growth, not a recession. Many of these people got pushed out of the welfare system, or have been displaced by illegal immagrants in higher paying construction jobs. During a recession these people would be fired because the store is not selling product.

Its high time we look into the way that we decide whether we are in recession or not… Weak US Dollar (given the fact that we import Gas from Canada), Increasing Grocery prices, Increasing Medical Insurance Cost, Increased Education cost, Pathetic Segements to look for job (walmart etc.,), collapsing verticals like fixed income etc., my savings today are close to none compared to a year before and inversely proportional to corporate profits and CEO salaries.. My counter parts in Canada and India, on the other hand, are doing very well. What do you say, are we not in recession?

"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."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recession

Funny how a politcal writer is pointing out public sentiment, on a matter that is clearly defined in economic terms.

Maybe CNN would have been better served if it asked it's respondents if they knew what a recession is. Maybe 5% of the public is capable of understanding the question.

When I see polls like this (or '60% of americans believe Iraq was responsible for 9/11′) I find the reporting of such matters demonstrative of how poor a job the news industry does in reporting facts.

A Recession 'is' or it 'is not'- determined upon facts, not sentiment.

46% Success rate of lib media brainwashing? Not bad. And to add in the race card that brainwashed blacks is 69% is icing on the cake.

To paraphrase an old saying "All politics (and in this case national issues) are local". Here in the Midwest (Detroit) telling someone there is NO recession is laughable. The domestic auto manufacturers are hurting.

It's not just a case of money-hungry unions, poor management or lack of attention to hybrids – although all of those factors contribute to the misfortune of the domestics – we are simply the first to "catch the cold" that other industries will soon experience, soaring health care costs, lack of leadership on foreign oil independence and the "halo" effect of foreign auto manufacturers.

Yes, we need responsible media but more importantly we need responsible leadership. Only we the people can ensure either – by our votes or by our support – or lack of- for media outlet advertisers.

The fact that 46% of Americans (given the poll is accurate–why don't they ever give us the source of these surveys?) think that we are in a resecion is the same reason that these people shouldn't be allowed to vote. Do a little research once in a while, people! Don't believe everything you read or hear on the tv/internet/radio/newspaper. CHECK SOURCES! What an uninformed society we live in.

Not only do I think that we are not in a recession(and I'm a Black American), I wonder why this article about 'whether people feel we are in a recession or not' was broken down among racial lines. Why was there a need to do that in this particaluar article? Must we break EVERYTHING down among racial lines? I thought we were all Americans here. Geez CNN, I am very disappointed in this article.

Stop picking on CNN.
The SUBJECT of the article is what a segment of people THINK about the economy – not whether the Economy is in a recession or not.

It's evident by the many comments, that allot of people don't really know.

CNN actually helped edify people by forcing them to do their own research on the Economy and get the facts. –

Good job CNN you contributed to the education and enlightenment of your viewers.

After reading all the previous comments to this article, I feel compelled to note a few things. First, I am sick and tired of both the whiny Dems and the close-minded neo-Cons on each end of the political spectrum thinking that every news article is political in nature. To be political, the article must insert a values judgment, and in this article, there is none. It was merely a recitation of polls and showing the relationship between one's (albeit ignorant) belief in our economy among different classes of people. The article was merely sociological fodder. So stop reading more into it than there is!

Second, did anyone ask themselves why there is a disparity in one's view of the economy?? Yes, we are not technically in a recession. However, the average American thinks the definition of recession is "bad economy." And does that surprise anyone? Last time I checked, most Americans do not hold degrees in Economics. But many people see things going on around them or are personally affected by things that the economic indicators do not show. Like how the sub-prime mortgage industry is on the verge of collapse, how the value of the dollar is falling in comparison to other currencies, how their homes are depreciating in value, how the forclosure rates are skyrocketing, how the competition for jobs is forcing people with advanced degrees to take menial jobs, and how salaries remain stagnant while the amount of hours required to perform their jobs is increasing. That's what your average joe working class person sees everyday and thinks "bad economy" so we must be in a recession. We aren't (yet), but many are feeling the pressures of negative economic life, and the poll numbers reflect this disparity.

So 46% of Americans are idiots. Thank you public schools. Thank you left wing media. Thank you CNN for clearing up the fact we aren't in recession. Oh wait you didn't. Good reporting there.

Gee, shock shock. I wonder why that is, exactly?

Could it be that the subject of economics simply is not taught in schools? Or could it be that what is passed off as economics education is woefully inadequate?

Here's a novel idea… replace mathematics with economics education, for all students, every year, K-12.

Schools teach kids to roll condoms on cucumbers, but is it too much to educate them on the economic system under which they'll live for their entire lives? Is it too much for kids to understand simple interest and the magic of compoundnig interest?

Adequate K-12 economics education will never occur in this country. The teachers unions simply will not allow it. For, if children actually learned economics, they'd be less likely to need a teat from the nanny state later in life, and Democrats would be out of a job. It's easier to control people when you're feeding them.

How many Americans even know the definition of "recession"? Idiot polls yield idiot conclusions.

I always find it interesting that the have's are so fast to say everything is great. I wonder how long they can keep their heads in the sand. The US is in a slow decline that will not stop. Being someone who at age 47 has to reinvent my career because so many jobs in the tech industry have been sent to India, life's not so rosey, it's a struggle. Someone who use to work in a manufacturing facility now works for Walmart, hey thats not a problem, he's employed. You people keep believing what the government tells you. Only a matter of time before your job is outsourced and that most of you making over 100k can be replaced by someone for half that. Tell me, what new industry is going to stop the housing skid this time, no internet revolution this time? We shall see.

Why does CNN run a story like this or even conduct a poll purposely misrepresenting the definition of a recession and trying to convince the public that the economy is in trouble? In the story there's not even an explanation as to what the definition of a recession is.

CNN is out in the open and not concerned anymore about its left wing bias. It's blatant.

I think the reason that so many people think we are in a recession is because that's what they see in their own lives. They are working harder and getting farther and farther behind. The cost of everything is getting higher at a rate much faster than wages are increasing. No matter what the numbers say, that doesn't feel like expansion, it feels like recession.

Hmmm, amazing how the GOP bots weren't sounding these bells when their president was busy convincing 50% of the populace that Iraq was directly responsible for 9-11. Remember those polls? Those in glass houses…

The people answering that they are in recession clearly don't understand the definition of recession. They are answering based on their quality of life which in all likelihood has been reduced of late due to the ever widening elimination of the middle class.

If the auto industry would stop making us support the oil industry, things might improve. No more high gas prices, no more middle east to fight over. We need true alternative energy powered vehicles, now! Other costs are going up, but it is the cost of energy that will run the already poor and the middle class into the poor house.

Boys and Girls. I don't know if there's a recession or not but (1) I can't live decently in California and (2) I don't think the Democrats raising my taxes will help it at all. Democrats don't even see any problems acept there's a non female in the White House.

Your headline is deceiving. It should read "More than half think US economy is on fire"

I never go to the CNN web site nor do I ever watch CNN on television. I prefer real news rather than the biased drivel they serve up. I was linked to this by another web site.

The country is not in a recession. The survey is old news as this trick has been done a few times in the past couple of years.

Many people believe we are in a recession because they are being manipulated in an ongoing effort by organizations such as CNN to believe so. And it is obviously why CNN is doing this.

CNN is shameful, despicable, dishonest, evil and biased. And we all know which direction the bias goes.

One can say that the Bush tax cuts kept the nation out of recession, however, please tell me where the tax cuts were invested. Here in the US? No, there in Southeast Asia.

Did they trickle down here or there? There. China is experiencing double digit growth – the US less than 2%.

Anyone who things we are in a recession is an idiot and probably not an avid investor. The US markets will continue to climb well into 2008, after which there may be a recession, or at least a steep decline in market value

With the sinking value of the dollar, the poll is on to some truth. The International Monetary Fund said the greenback “remains overvalued”. I expect most of the other right-wing comments defending our economy are from Drudge readers.

Recession? Hell no. Did CNN just poll thier Democrat base or what? Lies Lies.Anyone see the interview with Mrs. Cheney by Wolfy Blitzer a while back. In talking about the war on terror after Wolfy said something really stupid…Mrs Cheney asked Wolfy "What side are you on?"!!!Wolfy stammered "our side" Sure he is.Drink your Kool Aid kids.

Yes… http://www.shadowstats.com/cgi-bin/sgs/data is a very enlightening website. Think inflation is in check? Think again. (Bought $4/gallon milk lately?) Think the mortgage fiasco has no effect on GDP? Think again. Think unemployment remains low? Check those who have given up on finding a job – nd are not counted in the statistics – and think again. Think the Chinese are helping us maintain the value of the dollar by buying our gov't securities? They just quit – so think again. Think those who publish robust USEconomic stats to keep you content provide the "real" story? Check that website and think again. In 2000, oil was $22 a barrel – now it's $88. Gold was $250 an ounce – now it's $750… and on and on. The ONLY reason that the economy looks anywhere near healthy is that today's GDP is measured in dollars that are essentially worthless, as compared with the dollar of not so long ago. The Euro – worth less than $1 in 2000 is now worth $1.40. Think the rest of the world believes in the USEconomy ? See http://www.leap2020.eu and think again. Some people only believe the US is in dire economic straights – others of us KNOW it. Better get ready.

Did I miss your call? Or did the poll get lost in the mail? I don't recall being asked about this.

Wow. America will not progress while you rich ignorant hicks profess the economy is good and not in a recession simply because your family and yourselves are doing all right. You need to be personally slapped in the face by the symptoms of a depression before you too admit what constitutes a reality. Come out of the closet.

I think that the article speaks more so on the division of wealth in the nation. Most people aren't aware of the true definition of Recession and so they associate Recession with less money to spend. So to argue about liberal media and left wing and right wing is short sighted. Everything and everyone isn't divided along party lines. The 69% of blacks polled as well as the 42% of whites polled more than likely zeroed in on the second and third sections of the definition provided: "a significant decline in real income and employment". So in other words they have less money in their pockets and potentially can't find work. And with that being said we have bloggers talking about Bush, leftists, liberals and either their affirmation or disdain for one. That is the importance of this article. Wake up it is about more than Bush or yourselves.

Wow, my premise is correct. 50% of the population of America is totally ignorant. And they vote…..

Why are people getting SOOOOO worked up about this? Who really believes that 46 percent of Americans feel we are in a recession? Last I checked, I am American and I don't recall being asked. What's even more hilarious is the fact that supposedly 69% of blacks feel this way. I also happen to be an American of African descent, which I guess by this terminology makes me black, and I don't know ANYONE who was questioned by the CNN-Opinion Research Corporation in regards to whether or not we are in a recession. These numbers are obviously skewed because maybe 69 percent of the 5000 people they actually polled agree we are in a recession but I doubt that anyone could feasibly state that 42 percent of Americans feel this way because 42 percent of Americans were probably not asked to comment.

Give me a break. That's because more than half of people are morally bankrupt and their lifes are in recession.

Strap on the protectionist and isolationist boots and quit spending, it's all Bush's fault that we are now in an "opinionated" recession, good grief. Bush is still the only president to ever SEND me a check!

What kind of brain washing agenda does CNN have? "Nearly half of Americans feel the U.S. economy is in a recession"

What? ummm…say that again? Why doesn't the headline read "Most Americans feel the U.S. economy is not in a recession"?????

The answer: CNN wants Americans to believe that the economy is in bad shape. CNN does not want Americans to know that we are in our 49th consecutive month of job creation. Why? Because there is a Christian Republican on Pennsylvania Avenue.

First off half of Americans were not polled. I wasn't. No one I know was polled. This is just another CNN asking 647 people a question and extrapolating the numbers onto the entire nation.

Of the people polled it would not surprise me to find out they are basing their opinion of the economy on the housing industry. A recession is based on a quarterly decline of the overall GDP, which isn't actually declining at all. The average Joe is only looking at one element and screaming the sky is falling.

The markets have consistantly tracked positive over time. Unemployement is still below 5%. The average mean salary has increased in the calendar year 2007.

The recession findings, contrary to Mr. Steinhauser's article, bode poorly for the democrats. This might actually explain why Mr. Steinhauser's article reads the way it does, meaning it is disingenuous. If the economy is doing well, which is actually is, the democrats and their socialistic programs have no financial basis. Why would the average middle class family need subsidized health care if the economy is performing well and salaries are up?

It is in the best interest of the democrats to insist the economy is crashing and the sky is going to fall any second.

I am truly tired of pollsters and politicians dividing this country. We're carved up along racial and gender lines. Enough is enough. We're all Americans.

- I believe we're in a recession.
- I believe in man made global warming.
- I believe Islamic freedom fighters hate us because we're imperialistic.
- I believe in socialized medicine
- I believe in taxing our way to prosperity.
- I believe pro-choice right up to the fetuses 13th birthday.
- I believe in the UN.
- I believe Iran wants nuclear energy for generating power.
- I believe CNN, Time and Dan Rather
- I believe Jimmy Carter, Al Gore and Bill Clinton have our best interest in mind.
- I believe our educational system has failed me.

"Two, you easily could have noted that we did RECENTLY have a recession at the end of the CLINTON years (dotcom boom went bust)…"

Sorry, liar, but that recession started AFTER the Worst. President. Ever. started handing tax cuts to the rich and corporate, followed by the likely planned 9-11 attacks that bankrupted the country. Clinton handed Bush a balanced budget. President Criminal turned it into the biggest deficit ever.

Check your facts, knee-jerk fascists. Your time has come and gone, and Bush will be reviled throughout history.
"
… and it was the shortest ever because the idiot Bush enacted the tax cuts for people that actually pay taxes…"

No, that would be the middle class, who got shafted again. They got no relief. Bush reserved that for his corporate buddies and other rich people, whose tax rate has somehow been lowered to one point above the middle class.

That means, our tax structure punishes the middle class.

"The tax cuts went to and that is also what got us through the possibility of our economy being DEVASTATED after 9-11."

Revisionist history R U. Sell this crap to the Grimm brothers.

"The recession findings may be having an impact on President Bush's approval rating." What recession findings? There were none cited in the article. You did omit other pertinent information from NBER's web site regarding how it defines a recession, such as its statement that "Most of the recessions identified by our procedures do consist of two or more quarters of declining real GDP.." While NBER goes on to defend its use of other indicators to determine when the economy is in a recession, it does this primarily because of untimely revisions to the quarterly GDP data. Your article could have been informative to the public regarding its perceptions on our current economic conditions but, sadly, you chose to participate in perpetuating the economic falsehood that the U.S. is in a recession.

Gen X are a bunch of cry babies.

Period.

Why would employers on Craigslist still get 200+ resumes for a lousy $10 hr job in Manhattan?

Plus its NO big deal anymore if 5000 people show up at Walmart for 350 jobs….thats 'JUST NORMAL" TODAY.

What??

5000 people show up for jobs at Walmart? Really? Where?

Who submits a resume for a $10/hr job?

Are you talking about the same idiots who make up this 46%??

If you have a college education, a good work ethic and are articulate, you can get a very good job. I receive 2-3 calls per week from recruiters trying to place me in one of the many openings they are trying to fill and this is very common among my peers in the Northeast.

Do you understand the term labor shortage?

People can "feel" whatever they want, but a recession has an absolute definition of two consecutive quarters with a negative GDP.

why does the media have to keep going with black /white issues if the media wasnt so bent on race i believe it wouldnt be as bad as it is projected.
i cannot understand why you have to put in headlines{most blacks believe we are in a recession} what about the whites,hispanics,asains we are all amaricans why dont you stop trying to stir up some kind of race war

I don't get it. All the comments here are complaining about this story and how CNN is a horrible news outlet and CNN is so "liberal", etc. Then why do all these people log on to CNN and read their news stories?? Does Fox News' site link to CNN or something?

Bush Vetoed a bill that would have provided health insurance to middle class children whoose parents could easily afford health insurance. The middle class families would have had this benefit provided to them with taxes from poor smokers. The house knew the bill was going to be vetoed. The passage was only to provide CNN with republican bashing headlines. Bush said he was willing to talk about a realistic bill that would help cover the poor with out putting the burden on the poor to pay for it.
This will probably be what is eventually passed, but in the till then we will hear hundreds of headlines about how republicans hate children.

i don't think we are in a recession as of yet.
but, you have not seen anything yet. we are headed for the worst economic conditions since the great depression.
so all you rosy headed people here will get the shock of your lives.

If you read the article, the poll was not based on actual economic research – but whether individuals felt as if America were in a resession. It was purely an opinion poll.

It floors me how as soon as a poll like this is presented to the American public, whether scientific-based or not, everyone is out to slam the Democrats, liberal media, or anyone who does not prescribe to the presidents agenda. Did anyone happen to think that some of the people who were polled were probably Republican? Why assume that someone's opinion on the economy has anything to do with politics, the president, etc.?

By the way, the majority of Republican's running for the presidency feel that while America might be currently economically sound – the future does not look so bright. With the housing market deteriorating, critical job losses in some states, and runaway government spending…its easy for someone to have an OPINION that America is either in a recession or heading for one.

Wow pretty sad milk is $4 a gallon.
Gas at $2.75 per Gallon.
Insurance up
Mortgage payments up.
Tax up.

and politicians still say Inflation is tame. WOW, bloody wow.

Has your economic situation improved or deteriorated in the last year?

http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=739

I'm responding to whack job posts. Did Bush tell all of the remaining people in his administration to post hatred and bias? Actually, I don't think there are enough left in his administration to get this many bad posts. What it comes down to is neither Democratic or Republican. It comes down to a goverment that is not for the people and by the people. The government needs an overhaul more than the American auto industry. It's a mess and it's a shame. How long before America gets a serious dose of humility that will take us back to our core values? As far as recession, probably not. Is it near by? I think more than not, yes.

We may not be in a recession, but peoples' paychecks cover less and less nowadays. Many people cannot afford to live anywhere but out in the sticks. And that's bad because of the high cost of travel. Health care costs are skyrocketing. No one has stopped the predatory practices of credit card companies, either.

So, not a recession, but there is certainly good reason for many people in the middle class and below to feel squeezed.

We need greater tax cuts and a government that spends the bare minimum only on the things that are important. We have "compassionate conservatism" and old-fashioned big government liberalism, and no real alternative. There are no fiscal conservatives anymore–at least no viable ones.

So we will continue to be squeezed and squeezed while the government takes more and more. Socialist "utopia," here we come!

Most Americans (we are told) can't find the U.S. on a world map so why would we trust their sense of the country's economic health?

Or maybe it's the media reporting these things we can't trust?

I love all the Pollyannas here who think the economy is not in a recession because it grew in past years. Here' a clue for those idiots. The past is not indicative of the present and future. Recessions always start well before economists are aware of the shift downward. Chances are very good that we are indeed in a recession. Doofuses who don't think so should turn off Larry Kudlow and read some news.

Recession? Think about it, the dollar is at almost an all time low, oil is priced in dollars, oil approaching $90 a barrel. Trillions of dollars in US debt most of it is held by China, trade deficit all time high. A military operation in Iraq that does not have an end. A terrorist leader in Iran that wants nuclear weapons, now an ally of Russia. Jobs being outsourced. Savings at an all time low. If you lost your job would it completely destroy your earthly life? Would you lose your home, could you payoff your debt, could you eat? Could you do that without clinging on to some sort of government assistance program that just adds to our national debt? Recession? Did I answer your question?

When was the last time a strong American economy didn't give us all a little giggle when we compared our currency to that of our northern neighbors? Is Canada really doing that much better? Or are we doing that much worse?

The point is, you can say we aren't in a recession, but lets expand on the term "recession" and look at it from the global and generational point of view. Every parent wants their children to have a better life than they had. Sure you can be an idealist and say that a better life doesn't necessarily revolve around greater income, but for the most part, in the western world, money buys comfort. And however many American dollars you manage to accumulate, they're worth less than our parents were, and our childrens' dollars will fall even shorter. And the fact that our children may grow up to earn twice what we did in our lifetime doesn't garauntee even half the standard of living many of us have enjoyed, and provided for our families.

The economy our children will inherit will be riddled with national debt and retirement woes. The richest 1% of Americans will continue to prosper as they reap 99% of the profits generated in this country. The remaining 99% of us will continue to feel the crunch, and no matter what the numbers say, we're all very cognizant of the reality. Life is getting more expensive faster and by larger margins than salaries are growing. Plain and simple – the everyday man has been in a recession for years. Start looking at the macro view over generations, not quarters, and you'll realize we've been in recession for nearly 20 years.

Richard, you need to read the definition of Recession. Recession is a measurement of economic activity, not a measure of how many people apply for a job.

I suppose those who feel we are not in a recession must have far more money than the average Americans who were the ones in the poll. Only the wealthy or those who imagine they are wealthy believe in this administration.

Ohhh please. Look at you desparate ignorant republican Bush supporters grasping on to one tiny last molecule of oxygen as your ship goes down in a flame of perversion, deciet, lies and murder! Get your head out of your ass.

Funny, nothing negative towards the pres or his staff coming out of TX or ID…. and these are 1/2 the posts.

Dollar is week, more jobs going overseas everyday, america produces nothing, unemployment going up, property values are useless..

just keep driving SUV's and spending on you EQ line of credit, that will solve all the problems right?

most americans forgot how to save a dollar, everyone wants everything, slow down people.

It's kind of like "The Emperor's new clothes" .. Just wait you find just how naked this country has been stripped.

I'm not sure I'd take this poll all that seriously, as I don't trust that millions of Americans even know what a recession is.

However, saying the economy is doing just great is equally as foolish.

Sounds like Bush vs. Clinton all over again. Next we will be hearing an audiance memeber ask Giuliani how the deficit effects him personally in a debate.

we are in a recession. i dont think it, i feel it, in my b-ness, in my everyday life, and what i hear from friends and relatives. my b-ness has plumetted 60%, my credit cards are maxed out and i cant pay my rent…. yada yada yada….

I believe that based on the other comments, the general public thinks that CNN sucks as a news reporting agency.

To Richard Allen of New York City:

Your anecdotal examples aside, the objective fact is that we are not in a recession and have not been in one since the one that President Bush inherited from Bill Clinton in 2001 (which President Bush cured with his tax relief initiatives).

A recession is defeined as two or more quarters of negative economic growth. We have had positive economic growth in almost every quarter of Bush's presidency

Furthermore, unemployment continues to be at all-time lows, currently around 5%.

As much as it may make you and CNN feel good to engage in unsubstantiated alarmism by promoting the idea that we are in a recession, you and CNN are factually and verifiably wrong.

How many of you who wrote in saying we're not in a recession have lost your job to out-sourcing in the past year? I'll bet there aren't very many!I and several others I know have and none of us are making close to what we were before. If you were on the receiving end of a job cut, you'd be a little pessimistic about the economy, too. If you read the poll information, nearly half of Americans "feel" the US economy is in a recession. Do you normally attack how people feel about something. How shameful! Oh, that's right…blame the vast left-wing media!

People think we are in a recession because more and more people are being financially squeezed personally and, like most ignorant people, feel that the world revolves around them. Therefore, if their economics are in decline, the whole country's must be.

There are 2 reasons for this, neither of which are the fault of the news media:

1) they don't understand economics because they have never learned it. Before you scream that they should know, is economics taught in the school system where you live? Get involved and fix your own school district before you blame someone else. If the news media started teaching economics, people would be screaming that they were overstepping their bounds as new reporters and trying to make news.

2) As a society, we have become impatient and greedy (yes, sorry, that is the word). We want it all and we want it now, which has led to people foolishly running up large debts that they can't pay in an attempt to have what they believe everyone else has, which they should thus also be entitled to. The notions of saving for something and only buying what you truly want and/or need are very rare now. For this you can partially blame the media, but not the news media — try television, movies, advertising, etc.

Congratulations CNN! Your 6 year anti-Bush propaganda campaign is working! Your bad-mouthing the economy is bearing fruit. People form opinions based on the information given them. The press has done a horrible job reporting the news and almost always ends up reinforcing economic ignorance. Garbage in = Garbage out.

The 46% of people who believe we are in a recession probably constitutes the majority of the population that have over $20k in credit card debt and also probably constitute the majority of people who thought a subprime mortgage was a pretty good idea.

Exhibit No. 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,001 demonstrating that members of the Democrat party are blithering idiots. The booming, booming, booming Bush economic boom continues to boom and boom and boom, and the Democrat party and its useful idiots of the Washington press corps "think" the booming Bush economic boom is in "recession".

The responses to this article seem a little strident, don't they? I agree that the classic definition of a recession does not apply and the article certainly should have made this point. At the same time isn't it disingenuous to ignore the point that the perception of recession is there. Could the growing gap between the wealthiest and the middle class and poor be a possible reason for this at least statistically incorrect perception?

You, the media including CNN, created this extremely false view that we are in recession for your own political purposes.

It seems as if the "dumbing down" of citizens of the US is nearing completion. Remember, that according to Liberal/Dems and so-called news outlets. Conveniently omitted from those news reports was the fact that the Electoral College is the process, not mob rule. The teaching of Civics and U.S. History has been corrupted at the public indoctrination aka public school level that it is no wonder that 46% answer this way.
Pathetic, absolutely pathetic. It would be interesting to see the news media publish demographics of the actual consumers/purchasers of their various products. I'll bet that it would show that there are still many of us that are paying attention and are much smarter than the idiots you wish we all would become so that complete Socialism could finally come to fruition.

Recently the new Democrate glory boy Alan Greenspan, on the heals of his new best selling book that includes harsh words toward the Bush administration, was asked if the US is in or will be facing a recession. His answer, NO!!!! Wake up America!

While I think times are about to get worse due to various bubbles/issues in the economy (national debt, real estate, consumer debt, trade deficit, stock market overvalued, declining dollar, etc) I have a hard time saying we're IN a recession. My business has had no problem finding new customers lately (for a service that people can do w/o if times are tough), my wife's company is growing, our incomes are up, etc.

I'm curious what benefit is gained by polling the general public on issues they have little understanding of? I'd bet 90% of those polled can't define what macroeconomics is. They're watching dancing with the stars and American Idol, not perusing the economic news.

Guys, why are we so defensive about the poll results? Why is it about liberal or not?

OK, say we are not in recession, we would love to say that we are not going to be ever in recession, BUT ….. our trade deficit is paramount and getting worse. How much money do we owe from China, for instance, do you think? Geeeee … let's look at the government's official figures:

For 2007 (as of August), US EXPORTS to China is ONLY US$41,230.200,000 (US$41.2 billion), IMPORTS from China is 205,062.300,000 (US$205 billion), trade deficit with China is US 163,832,000,000 (US$163.8 billion). Just imagine by the end of the year …. how can we balance the trade? Close down Walmart and other importing giant businesses?

BTW … that's only China, not yet India etc.

Let's educate ourselves by learning the facts from the official source:
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html#2007

Nearly half the US population is woefully ignorant. Recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GNP growth. We haven't even had one quarter of negative growth yet…yet.

There is a reason the CPI calculations were changed, they were wrong. How could you possibly think CPI is anywhere near 8%?

And you think GDP has been declining for 20 years? Get real.

I live in Fort Myers Florida I am a Conservative and I don't need the media to tell me we ARE in a Recession. I own retail stores on no one is currently doing good in any retail business in this area.

As many of the posters have noted, we are NOT in a recession. In fact, the economy has been doing quite well for a long time. Shamefully, the article lists no readily available statistics to inform readers of low unemployment levels, low inflation, high stock market, rising GDP, etc. How convenient, as an election approaches, to do nothing to dispel obvious misbeliefs held by the electorate.

You can also count on the media to produce stories about how difficult it is for senior citizens "living on fixed incomes" to survive with an average increase of only $24 in their Social Securiy checks, without realizing that the fact of the increase itself totally negates the use of the term "fixed incomes!"

Hey, if you want to see a recession, wait until Hillary gets together with Reid and Pelosi to raise taxes, increase federal handout spending, and impose more efficiency-busting bureaucratic regulations. THAT will be the mother of all recessions!

Believe non-believers are in for a shock as the economy continues to unravel. Wait until the seasonal retail sales reports begin coming in. This credit crisis, housing collapse are much broader than many realize, yet! This is not just a subprime problem. Think about home many jobs are connected to housing and auto industries. Today's news shows big increase in unemployment filings.

The denial in these posts is simply dumbfounding. Housing starts and prices are tumbling throughout the nation, the dollar is falling, oil prices are rising, bankruptcies are at an all-time high, hundreds of thousands can't pay their subprime mortgages and are losing their homes, on and on and on.

This so-called expansion of the past 5 years was almost totally propped up by the subprime mess, with the tacit approval of Bush and the Republican majority in Congress, and it will now come back to bite them, and everyone else in the butt.

To say the media is to blame is to blame is laughable.

CNN's reporting of people's misunderstandings unfortunately can translate into future reality- if almost 50% think we're in recession, then confirm here that many others also think so, and they cut back on spending or show up in CNN's next "Consumer Sentiment Plummets" article, CNN can take a bow for some of the very drop in economic growth it helped imagine.

ironic how this article doesn't state IF we are in a recession or not! I guess CNN can not bring themselves to acknowledge that we are NOT in a recession. Maybe they should tell the uninformed the truth instead of slanting this article about people's ignorance and making it sound true.

Gee – I like the headline "NEARLY Half Think US In Recession"….but they show 51 percent don't believe that and only 46% do….then they define a "recession" but fail to give the FACTUAL DATA to show that we are not even close to a recession….can we say PARTISAN?

Bob Martin
Stoughton Wisconsin

Those numbers at shadow stats look so wrong…

CNN previously used 1 poll (1212 people) to create 4 articles on their blog:

1. Thompson fading, Hillary Rising
2. Hillary Trouncing Obama
3. American people support illegal aliens
4. American people want SCHIP

These 1212 people polled were obviously Pro-Hillary, Pro-Illegal Alien, Pro-Free Healthcare. To suggest this "sample" could somehow represent the American people on ALL the topics is just wrong. Adding to the questionability to the poll – it had a margin of error of 6.5 points.

NOW – we here of another poll that the American people THINK were in a recession?

CNN – you didn't cite the date and size of your sample. IS this just more headlines your TRYING to create from the same flawed poll you did previously???

Has nothing to do with the media. Right wingers, please start to think for yourself instead of blindly believing what the right wing media tells you. The reason such a large percentage of Americans think the nation is in a recession is because a large percentage of Americans have not benefitted from the current economic expansion. To explain, if we are all sitting in one room we all have an average income. If I hit the lottery the average income in this room increases substantially but you have no more money, I have it all.

Let's see. I haven't even had a cost of living pay increase in 3 years, our budget has been cut by over 50% since 2003, and health care costs are putting my family into bankruptcy. Either I'm having a bad dream or all the previous messages about the US not being in a recession are being posted by mortgage brokers.

Here's a great drive by report filling up space that is, assuming everyone surveyed had enough knowledge to understand what a recession actually is, which I doubt.

Incredible. These are the kind of irresponsible reports that sway the ignorant, gullible, uninformed and naive masses who make up the voting public. Most of them will never know the facts of the matter. CNN should be ashamed.

CNN,
Why don't you report on the Democratic Congress oh so low approval ratings? Huh? You'd prefer to keep America ignorant on that one don't you? Oh how pro-democratic and socialist you are inside and behind the scenes. I speak from first hand knowledge.

According to the bureau, "a recession begins just after the economy reaches a peak of activity, and ends as the economy reaches its trough. This definition is only used when a Republican is President.

Using the above definition, the last recession began in the middle of the second Clinton/Gore term.

The press at the time said that a reduction in growth was not a recession until growth was less than 0% ie negative. That is the definition if a Democrat is President. Of course the media has no bias.

Congratulations to the drive-by media. You have proven that you can fool half of the people all of the time. You have also proven that Democrats are more easily duped or are dumber than Republicans. And it seems your propaganda has worked best on the black community. Kudos, yet another victorious battle in your War on Truth.

Main stream media portrays the economy as being bad because if they didnt, Hillary or Obama wont win the election. How else can you explain that nearly half the people in the US think we're in a recession when we're not even CLOSE?

Posted By Bob : October 18, 2007 10:36 am

First, after the last Republican president, I don't think that Americans are going to reward the party again this time around. Also, I don't think that the economy is going to be the most pivotal issue for those voting for Democrats, so no, I don't think that's the reason that this story is being reported.

It could be that most of these people are having a harder time paying bills. I expect that these people define recession as having to cut other expenses to pay for gas and their mortgages (if they haven't foreclosed already).

All of these problems, to me, are not the definition of a recession, though I do think we're headed that way soon. It's the simple business cycle, in addition to culmination of some of the problems we're experiencing. That said, these 46% are going to be severely hurting later if they think we're in a recession now.

I don't know why people keep pointing out that we are NOT in recession or that CNN doesn't bother to report the facts.

CNN will just ignore these comments and keep right on doing it. I'd love CNN to "investigate" this matter, but media groups seem to think they are above the scrutiny they subject others to.

So CNN editors, please feel free to respond with an explanation if you are truly journalists. Personally, I think "mouthpiece" is a more apt description.

Remember, this is from a public for whom the majority can't find Iraq on a world map.

Why do the bloggers here who complain about CNN being liberal even read this website?

This is a reason why everyone should vote Democrat. If we don't the establishment media will try to make us feel depressed and miserable about the state of the country and especially the economy until the next election. If we do and put a Democrat in the White House, everything will be good overnight.

Let's see. Over 50% of Americans believe we are not in a recession. Isn't that the correct headline? Do you always see the glass as half-empty. I have zero debt and have worked for 40 years. If you aren't working, go get a job, then you won't be home to answer these surveys.

All I can say is, there are a lot of ignorant people on this blog. People measure the economy on their personal situation. Congress has a low rating not because Democrats are in power, but because the Republicans are blocking all meaningful legislation, and nothing is getting done. The only people supporting Bush are the Republicans themselves. Liberal bias, my but. I'm done speaking now. You can go stick your head back in the sand.

How about reporting JUST ONCE all the good things that are going on in this Nation! I know the press has to scare people into buying/watching their editorials, but JUST ONCE!
It is easy to understand that a great number of people believe we are in a recession/slowdown with the CONSTANT perception of bad news.

This is poor journalism, but coming from a "Deputy Political Director" I would not expect good journalism.

We are not in a recession, based on the definition.

Globally (which is not how we define recession, but perhaps we should) we are not keeping up our normal pace.

Put the blame where it belongs. A 20 trillion not 20 billion hole in the housing market caused by greedy bankers, greedy real estate agents and greedy housing developers. But they will all declare bankruptcy and be back in business the next day.

The poll measures how effective the media has been in convincing the public of something that is not true. The poll also shows that those who watch the leftist media are the least informed, have the least understanding of what a recession means, and what percentage considers media editorial comment as fact. Other observations include that this reveals how effective our public schools are at placing (socialist) indoctrination above education. I would also add that people who are this disconnected from reality end up poor in high percentages as the real world is nothing like their opinions would lead them to believe. This disconnect leaves them dazed and confused about how to climb the economic ladder. The media should be indicted for malpractice for giving the Kool-Aid to so many people, it is truly a disservice to those who bought into it.

"In dollar denominated terms, we have been in a recession and things are getting worse. In fact, subracting the effects of devalued currency and inflation, the stock indexes are as low as in the 1980s."

Good thing I don't buy my eggs and milk in euros…

Guess what CNN, if you haven't noticed, people who aren't sheep or enjoy critical thinking took you to task for this purposeful and deceitful "story".

45 postings already and 43 GOTCHA!

What's it like getting you head handed to you by regular folks?

Let’s see;

(1) Unemployment is about 5% nationally (although lower here in Florida);
(2) Record low interest rates still prevail;
(3) Stock market is soaring;
(4) You’re paying lower taxes than you did under President Clinton.

If you think the economy is bad now, wait until Queen…umm, I mean President Hillary is in office and she raises your taxes for income redistribution.

The most telling element of this story is that it never says that we're NOT in a recession. Someone who doesn't know better would read this article and conclude that we ARE in a recession. I bet if you approached people on the street they would read this article and walk away thinking that 1) a recession is defined by a poll like this and therefor 2) we are in a recession.

What horrible reporting. But then, not too surprising considering it's reporting like this that likely led to the poll results in the first place.

Remember all the "Bush will be the first president to lose jobs during his administration" stories every time there was a new job loss report out? Funny how I haven't seen any stories since the job losses turned into gains.

A recession is inevitable, and could have been forseen. Housing was overbuilt, and terms of mortgages too generous. If one lost health insurance or a job, house could not be maintained. Also decline in dollar was forecast, and that meant a credit crunch. Growth in GDP did not greatly exceed growth in labor supply. Profits for businesses did not pass on to workers who are the ones who support the economy. Bush mismanaged economy just as he mismanaged Iraq.

The results of this poll reflect the constant grousing and pessemism progated by the left and mainstream media. I predict that global warming will suddenly be fixed once Hillary is elected.

The answer to "why is CNN creating a false issue" can be answered by looking at the banner at the top of the web page:

Clinton News Network

(i.e., it helps Hillary)

TLR

What would it take for you to realize that not everyone views the world with your tunnel vision? Left-wing media is any article that you don't agree with. Are you ever wrong?

What a great article. And don't you just love how the "bad economy" mantra self perpetuates amongst those that want to believe it? I was reading the student newpaper published by my college alma mater (a Big Ten university) and recently read a number of student opinions about how "this is one of the worst economies we've seen". Huh? Where do they get this information? I don't know, probably by watching the Comedy Channel's Colbert and Stewart relentlessly bash the President and the state of the nation which is then echoed by these sorts of articles that report half (or less) of factual data. I guess if you repeat what you want to believe long enough you'll eventually convince yourself it's true.

Under President Clinton the media constantly informed the masses that this is greatest economy in the history of the United States. Under President Bush the economy is chirping along as well as the past decade yet you never hear a positive comment out of he main stream media. The economy has been solid since the Reagan era.

I can't believe the liberal media does not recognize the fact that the economy is doing just fine and focus only on the negative aspects of it. Every day there is only bad news being reported. The contradiction exists when the actual numbers are shown. It seems like news sources like CNN are determined to influence the psyche of the American people to vote democrat in the next election. To CNN and the rest of the drive-byes, the only way America must be is to the left.

I would like to see less biased on your news reporting.

This is why we do not want enforced voting laws like Europe. Stupid people should not be allowed to vote. Forget the picture ID, an IQ test should be the requirement..

If you want the real data, go to http://www.bea.gov/. That will explain why CNN fails to exhibit factual journalism: The FACTS don't support their assumptions.

Want some whine with that cheese?? Screw CNN!

Guys, why are we so defensive about the poll results? Why is it about liberal or not?

OK, say we are not in recession, we would love to say that we are not going to be ever in recession, BUT ….. our trade deficit is paramount and getting worse. How much money do we owe from China, for instance, do you think? Geeeee … let's look at the government's official figures:

For 2007 (as of August), US EXPORTS to China is ONLY US$41,230.200,000 (US$41.2 billion), IMPORTS from China is 205,062.300,000 (US$205 billion), trade deficit with China is US 163,832,000,000 (US$163.8 billion). Just imagine by the end of the year …. how can we balance the trade? Close down Walmart and other importing giant businesses?

BTW … that's only China, not yet India etc.

Let's educate ourselves by learning the facts the official source:
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html#2007

When you show that the majority of blacks think we are in a recession are you just trying to show they are uneducated or unknowlegable. What exactly are you trying to say because that fact is….we are not in a recession. And who really cares what blacks think? Why don't we see what the Japanese/Americans think. Blacks are not even the larges minority group as Hispanics have surpassed them. CNN works hard to keep a racial divide between blacks and every other ethnic group. I am sure this will not get posted either as CNN loves covering up the truth.

It is really scary when you realize that Hillary & company will stop a nothing to get power. This nation is really really ill. How sad it has come to this point. It makes me want to puke.

What young person in their right mind would join the military and put their life on the line for this nation. America has become a cesspool.

I loath liberals…

The draft will return if Hillary becomes POTUS. The military will not be able to retain people and nobody will join.

I believe in late term abortion for liberal babies.

The reason why people think that we are in a recession is because the economy overall is not doing well. Yes I know some of you may think otherwise, what with the stock market doing so well…….. and that's exactly where you're going wrong. Yes, the BUSINESS economy is doing great. The economy as a whole is not doing well though, because those that actually have to work for a living are finding themselves less and less able to do so. This whole situation proves that Reagan's "trickle down" effect doesn't work, so I really can't understand why there's still anyone who thinks that conservatives are going to be able to fix anything when the shining example of a conservative president is dead wrong.

It is obvious that the economy has been in steep decline for the last four years. Jewelry went up in price by forty percent from just last year alone. Inflation is at 12% per annum, if you INCLUDE cost of food and fuel. The car industry is crashing and burning. Credit spending is off the charts. More people don't OWN their homes, more people OWE for the houses they reside in. Actual pay scale has declined while finished products actually cost more in hours to ownership comparison tables.

More people have to have two jobs for the one that they lost due to globalist hucksterism and propaganda. With illegal aliens taking American jobs for lower wages the actual wages have dropped significantly. And now the entire financial system is on the edge of a grand canyon of collapse because of the greedy, exploitive, international bankers and their cronies in the Fed, legislature and executive branches.

Whi the hell cares what half of Americans think? Why is that news and why do I tune in here to find you morons just passing information along without qualifying it. You and media outlets who do this same thing are the reason that half of Americans are so misinformed. If I couldn't add or subtract, I might think that home ownership is currently a losing proposition because the value of my house has "dwindled"–to use a CNN term by 4% over the last few months, even though the long term appreciation has more than tripled my investment in 10 years.

It simply isn't enough to pass along information. It also isn't enough to spin the information. Is there any source of news that cares anything about a thoughtful interpretation of current events so that Americans don't have to be experts in everything to sort anything out…besides "The Economist" magazine?

The state of the media in America is embarassing. You and others like you should be ashamed. The right wing crackpots on the radio are also nuts, but no worse. They just "talk uglier".

Update: Over 90% of the people polled can't correctly define what a recession is.

Sure, the stock market is going up, employers are hiring, and business (AKA large corporations) are making more and more money. So while the economy is doing great, the average American isn't, so they believe that we are in a recession.

People's perceptions are very skewed due to the fact that actual income for the majority of Americans has been on the decline. The price of goods and services has gone up. And not just luxury items, but food, housing, fuel, and health care have increased exponentially, while incomes have remained steady or declined. The dollar has been consistently been devalued, even Canadian currency is worth more than your dollars.

So while the economy and the 1% of Americans that have 25% of the wealth are doing great, the majority is getting the shaft in this new economy.

The 46% of Americans who are out of touch with reality and obviously have no clue about the economy are probably the ones who will be casting votes for Obama and Hillary. Let's hope the logical 51% will vote the other way. Thanks for reporting the ignorance of the public, but how about being objective and presenting the true facts about the strong economy? This is CNN though, so I won't hold my breathe.

Interesting to see all the people come out saying how can we be in a recession …look at well things are going.

I bet these are the same folks that have no idea how the feds create hidden inflation with their monetary decisions. All they here is Bush or Clinton mouthing words that are handed to them before they reach the podium.

As the mother that lives in denial that her husband is a wife beating alcoholic, many people only want to believe that we are on a forever increasing prosperity path. Heck I doubt if many even know of the M1, M2, and M3.

Modern inflation is a persistent increase in the level of consumer prices or a persistent decline in the purchasing power of money. It can be caused by an increase in available currency and credit beyond the proportion of available goods and services.

Anybody that purchases the family groceries (which I do)know and see inflation. The can of beans that two months ago sold for 35 cents is now 52 cents, eggs were $1.03 and now they are $1.44, milk is at record highs. Posters are expecting us to believe that it is all ok when inflation on food is 15 percent?

Even from a common sense standpoint does anyone think that the recent rapid increase of gasoline isn't going to show up on the price of goods and service?

Do ya think, just maybe, all those empty condos, the ones that were over built aren't going to affect anything.
Try getting a home equity loan. Good luck on that one.

Heck people think the DJIA, that small basket of stocks, somehow means that everything is OK. A certain percentage of Americans, the top 10 percent, owns most of the equity offerings in the USA. When they decide to dump, securities will slide.

Once China decides to dump the USA debentures, look out. There is no way in this world that you can still deny what is looking you in the face.

I live in an area that is still seeing hyper housing growth. We are 60 minutes from one of America's largest cities and we are still on the path of becoming the number one bedroom community. So contractors and those in construction are still seeing growth. Those in the manufacturing sector …their dead in the water. Once the new construction stops, reaches its capacity, our local landscape will be filled with houses, fast food and retail. Those construction people will be looking for work but the only work will be at $9 an hour jobs. I think it is a reason that some people say, hey everything is fine, we are doing well. Yes, your sector of the USA may be doing OK but there are sectors that aren't doing well and will never recover. In the old days, the manufacturing days, that manufacturing was spread across the USA, it wasn't a sector economy. New housing has been the driving force behind the good numbers. From what I hear that driving force lost its wind @ last June.

Don't pull the curtain back too far because you may not like what you see.

Weird. Where are all the Bush bashers on this topic?

We have had 36 plus months of steady economic growth and a shrinking deficit (in spite of the war in Iraq). Seems to me the Bush tax cuts did their job.

CNN is really fishing on this one.

You Republican idiots who think that the economy is so great! Great for who? Great for the rich and the big corporations!! For the average American we ARE in a recession! The poor and working class are not feeling the benefits. Its all about the "investor class now" The gap between the rich and poor is expanding! That is NOT a good economy!

What does race have to do with this? I'm with the guy who commented 8th who cares America is America. There's no Black America and White America. If America is in recession we're(Black and White)all in recession. The government digs too deep into things.

The National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP (Gross Domestic Product), real income, employment, industrial production and wholesale-retail sales."

What a bunch of crap this definition is. So an example in their eyes is 10% growth in one year, slowing down to 5% growth over the next 3 to 4 years? There is still growth, just at a slower rate. A recession is NEGATIVE growth. These liberal decievers use the same phoney math with so called spending "cuts". There are never any "cuts", just a smaller increase than the greedy democrats wanted for their failed social programs.

What you are saying is that 50% percent of Americans are wrong! You point out that 50% of the people think we're in a recession,and then you define it. You are actively trying to mislead your readers by implying that we are in one – when anybody with more than 5 working brain cells knows we aren't! I wonder how so many people be could be so totally wrong about a subject? They probably get their info – and are stupid enough to believe it – on cnn.
PS to all you cnn loving skeptics – you know we aren't in a recession, or cnn would be 24/7 on how Hillary is the only one who can get us out of this recession. They would of course leave out the fact that she has literally no experience! NONE! What real work economic experience does she have? None! – This is why so many people call cnn the Clinton News Network, and why their ratings are goin to continue to fall. They just don't learn! If she wins, the dems are gong to lose everything in two years – again – just like they did the first time the Clinton's got into office. She is by far the weakest general election candidate for the Democrats

YES WE ARE IN A RECESSION……..Or why would employers on Craigslist still get 200+ resumes for a lousy $10 hr job in Manhattan?

Plus its NO big deal anymore if 5000 people show up at Walmart for 350 jobs….thats 'JUST NORMAL" TODAY.

News reporters are totally oblivious to these stories.

Who really cares what the black population thinks. The leaders of crime and prison population. No wonder they don't like Bush. I'd like to see the figures of how many eligible blacks actually vote. I would be more worried about what the legal Spanish population thinks.

PROOF THAT CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS ARE NOT DOING THEIR JOB… WE ARE NOT IN A RECESSION, BUT THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA HAS LEAD PEOPLE TO BELIEVE WE ARE…IT HAS TO BE THE MEDIA'S INTENTION TO MISLEAD…NO OTHER EXPLANATION WORKS!

I've seen the idiot lou dobbs dedicate entire shows to how poorly the economy is doing. CNN are a bunch of partisan phonies who create their own news.

PROOF THAT CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS ARE NOT DOING THEIR JOB… WE ARE NOT IN A RECESSION, BUT THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA HAS LEAD PEOPLE TO BELIEVE WE ARE…IT HAS TO BE THE MEDIA'S INTENTION TO MISLEAD…NO OTHER EXPLANATION WORKS!

Hopefully Fox/Business will help overcome the economic-financial knowledge information void created by our public education system and perpetuated by "news" outlets like CNN.

Could we get some real economic data here?? I guess CNN thinks if they can get 46% of the country to believe something, then it must be FACT. Hmm… sounds similar to their global warming arguments…..

Guys, why are we so defensive about the poll results? Why is it about liberal or not?

OK, say we are not in recession, we would love to say that we are not going to be ever in recession, BUT ….. our trade deficit is paramount and getting worse. How much money do we owe from China, for instance, do you think? Geeeee ……

To the "nearly half" that believe we are in a recession. Get the facts. Recognize! If you want to know what a recession is, take a look at what Bush inherited from Clinton. Because Clinton gave us a true recession by definition. Not mearly what stupid people believed to be a recession.

Shouldn't we be polling economists, or people in finance? Wouldn't that be a more accurate indicator of where we are headed? That poll probably wouldn't make good news, because most likely those people don't believe we are in a recession.

But the media has made sure the average person thinks we are in a recession. The perception is better than the reality – especially when trying to make up bad news.

These comments are unbelievable. I have no idea what is wrong with some of these people.

Recession? That's putting it mildly. Here in the state of Michigan we're practically in a full blown depression. And yes folks…it's all going to India and China. So fast it would make your head spin. And we lay the blame right at the feet of G.W.Bush and his merry little band of Republican free trade extremists.

Would you like to see millions and millions of square feet of vacant or abandoned industrial real estate and office space? Boarded up schools and police stations in what were once nice neighborhoods? Vacant or abandoned homes in what were once some of the nicer suburbs? Then come to Michigan! This is where state government in Lansing is on the verge of total collapse because there is no revenue to collect. Afterall, bankrupt corporations and individuals don't pay taxes. The number of bankrupcies ( both corporate and personal ) is at an all time high and still trending upward. We have the highest unemployment. The number of home forclosures is staggering…tens and tens of thousands. Thousands of homes are being sold at auction. Some families are handing the keys to their homes to the bank and just walking away. Others are leaving the keys on the counter and walking away in the middle of the night. I love the way the media and Wall Street blame the sub-prime mortgage mess on poor lending practices and irresponsible borrowers. Why don't they ever mention the hundereds of thousands of honest families who defaulted on their loans because their jobs were shipped overseas? (And this is not just a Michigan problem.) Many talented college graduates are fleeing the state before the ink is even dry on their diplomas simply because employment prospects are so dismal. This is free trade? We are paying way too high a price for those policies enacted in Washington which actually encourage corporations to outsource or move offshore. Why doesn't George W. Bush come to Michigan more often so he can see what he's done for us in the last 6 or 7 years?

What goes up will always come down (and will go up again). Remember real estate? Buy, Buy, Buy, the growth in equity is non-stop; Let's encourage people to use their equity as a piggy bank? Our country's debt is owned by China, folks. In fact, our economy is dependent on people going into debt so that they can continue to buy, buy, buy.

This recession is coming but very slowly but it always is felt first among people with lower incomes and it trickles up. The time to tell will be around the holidays. It has always seemed weird to me that this country's economy is dependent on a supposedly religous holiday. That is one of the reasons I have never bought into all that stress filled Christmas hype. We keep it pretty low-key. If everyone did that our economy would collapse, I guess.

It won't effect every strata of business though. The oil and gas industries will be making large profits this winter as people will have to make the choice between keeping their house comfortable, putting gas in their cars, and Christmas. Something tells me that for certain segment of society (well paid politicians and the wealthy) will not feel a thing but the middle to lower end classes are going to be really pinched.

My impression is that the media is surprised that people feel this way (because those in the media are well paid). There is a real sense of forboding out there and if you do not sense it then you are in for a shock. I would advise everyone to keep your credit debt low and save your money.

So nearly half the poll respondents are too dumb to know what a recession is. And certainly CNN is being so unbiased to not tell those dummies that the economy is expanding.

I'm an informed American and I hear the reports of the economy "expanding". But who is it expanding for? I don't deal in the market (can't afford it). So MY economy is not expanding. The article did not state whether the economy was expanding or not, but that whoever they polled "felt" that way. I live in a middle class neighborhood, decent career, but I don't see any "expansion" that the reports state. Its all about "perception"

CNN can't say that there isn't in fact a recession because then the one take away from this article is that 69% of Black American's have no clue versus 42% of White Americans.

Salil,
don't believe everything the government tells you with bogus cooked book statistics.. unemployment is much higher.. after unemployment benefits expire- the government does not count those who still have not found a job..
MORE PEOPLE ARE LOSING HOMES! because of the huge injections of money from the federal reserve which goes directly to the banks, which the banks use to purchase securities– this is why the dow is going up! a gallon of milk used to cost 1.69/gallon 3 years ago now ita approaching 3.00- inflationm is much higher than the stated 2% try 10 to 12% everything costs more.. food energy housing etc etc.. the Dollar has lost 60% of its purchasing power vs the euro dollar since 1999.. but were not in a recession?? what was the credit crunch that just hit a month ago or so and is STILL GO ON TODAY .. go watch cnbc even those biased morons admit it.. WAKE UP FOLKS THIS ECONOMY is NOT GOOD. since 1913 the dollar have lost 93% of its purchasing power.. what cast 1.00 in 1913 now costs 93!
I don't know abouyt you but i'm tired of the government lies and deception it in their interest to lie about statistics! M3 which the government does not report anymore is exploding at a 13% rate.. and we wonder why we have inflation! time for a new change! Ron Paul is the only candidate who has the answers to these hard questions.. he knows what to do!
Ron Paul in 08!! ronpaul2008.com

Although the rich traveling aboard will find things more expensive. The effects of devalued US currency are also benefitial to our economy. Exports become cheaper and imports more expensive, helping to lower the trade deficit.

The stunning misreporting by CNN has created a false perception on purpose!!! Wait until the real recession hits and it's the Democrats who caused it! They will lie about that too.

Note to Carl: Your glass is 2% empty.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE ARE NOT IN A RECESSION!! Since CNN didn't care to announce that, I felt we should. Mr. Bush in fact inherited a recession, the dot.com crash, and for God's sake 911!! That by itself is enough to destroy the economy of most countries!! Fortunately with tax cuts spurring growth, and some smart moves by the fed, we now have 4% unemployment and 20+ quarters of successive growth. I for one, being self-employed now have good health insurance because I'm making more money!! Count me in the 36% approval. He's not perfect, but he cuts taxes and kills the bad guys. Not reasons with them….kills them.

Are there no economists available to CNN? If this is a recession, let's have more of it.

No wonder FOX NEWS has overtaken CNN in Cable News.

The Democrats and their Public Enlightenment agents have done a masterful job. Goebbels would be proud.

K Reed- You are correct (except for spelling negative wrong)! Why do we waste so much time on people's feelings? If I "feel" like my house is on fire when it isn't, should I keep calling the fire department? People would be much better off if they stopped listening to media hype and used their brain instead. But I guess I am being unrealistic…

Apparently not one of you has noticed the slide in the 50% + slide in the value of the 'dollar'. One way to hide a recession is to devalue the currency and protect the last 36% that like the current Bush regime.

This poll simply shows the ignorance of the American people.
Why did Cnn omit the economic data that shows that our economy is in a robust state?

If someone is in economic difficulty, it's most likely that person's responsibility and not the government's responsibility. It's just too easy to switch responsibility in this age of government bashing.

Brilliant. The story does not take the press to task for a populace so ill-informed about the economy. And of course links the economy to Bush's low approval rating without mentioning Congress' (Pelosi and Reid) even lower approval rating. CNN is a joke. If Drudge hadn't link this I would never have read it.

Its a great economy for investors – there are lots of people with more money than they know what to do with driving up the price of investments far above their value.

When it comes to the real economy most Americans live in, you bet its in recession. The real jobless rate is hidden behind those who've exhausted their benefits, job creation is abyssmal, wages for the lower 60% of Americans has been stagnant for the last six years. We've replaced our manufacturing base with telemarketing, and now were are offshoring telemarketting.

The US economy in not in recession in the same way Bill Gates and I have an average of 14 billion in wealth.

I guess for CNN to correct the story on how people are wrong about the recession, they would also have to give President Bush credit for the economic plan of cutting taxes to end the previous recession left by Clinton and to have the economy growing for 5 years, during war time no less. Thus we are left with a story that just shows a majority of people are ignorant of economic fact…wonder if these same people all vote Democrate?

Apparently, the individual posts here haven't figured out that the figures you are looking at are not legitimate. This is geared to make the markets move. In reality, inflation is out of control. Look at gold prices. This isn't just because of geopolitics. Oil is through the roof because of speculators and because are dollar isn't worth the value of the paper its printed on. Our markets are artificially inflated by the insiders so they can take your money. See how carefully the news articles are released so as to motivate the little people and the uninformed to make decisions just so that people with real money can take it from you. Wake up people. Do your own research.
Do not look at the numbers. They are not legitimate and are only there to mislead you. If you don't believe me follow the recommendations you hear on CNBC and watch what happens to your money.

CNN reports that nearly half of all Americans think we're in a recession – but CNN does not report the objective and verifiable fact that we are not, in fact, in a recession.

Yesterday CNN reported that a majority of Americans favor overriding President Bush' veto of the Democrats' massive expansion of the SCHIP program. But the CNN poll was based on Democrat spin rather than an explanantion of what the Democrats were actually trying to do. The proof is that a USA Today poll revealed that when the expansion of the program is explained, a majority favor the President's position.

With biased agenda-driven reporting like CNN's, it's no wonder that so many Americans are misinformed.

Good job letting the readers know we're NOT in a recession. I guess it only matters what people think, not what the facts are. Thankfully people can reply to this garbage.

I kept reading the article, looking for the part where CNN talks about the real numbers…then the article ended.
WTF?
Rush, Hannity et al are cons but admit it, CNN has a liberal agenda but calls it journalism. We're all doomed!!

This proves CNN surveys complete and utter IDIOTS. Don't belive anyting that says "…in a new CNN-Opinion Research Corporation Poll." I can't believe CNN admits they call idiots when conductiong these pulls. If you are one of those who believe we are in a recession, please move to Cuba or Iran or China, or Mexico. You'll feel more at home there.

In dollar denominated terms, we have been in a recession and things are getting worse. In fact, subracting the effects of devalued currency and inflation, the stock indexes are as low as in the 1980s.

http://www.shadowstats.com/cgi-bin/sgs/data

The current expansion is longer than six other postwar expansions. Few critics would have forecast that the current expansion would be entering its seventh year, especially in 2003, when there was exaggerated political fussiness about a so-called “double-dip” recession.

The consumer price index (CPI) increased 6.2 percent in 1973, 11 percent in 1974, and 9.1 percent in 1975. Today’s inflation rate is tame by comparison, increasing 2.3 percent in 2003 and 2.7 percent in 2004. The CPI has increased 2.4 percent in 2005 and has held steady since. The analogy that the economic dems attempt to draw between today’s events and those of the mid-1970s is weak at best.

Contrary to what the Dems are telling us, the U.S. economy, about to enter its seventh consecutive year of expansion, should never be underestimated.

What's the differerence between a recession and a depression?
During a recession, your neighbor loses his job. During a depression, you lose your job.
I heard last night Bush's approval rating was down to 22% after he vetoed SCHIP. Quack loud, lame duck.

And from what source do Americans get information about a: what does “recession” mean?, and b: what are the current facts about the economy?

"Nearly half think U.S. in recession" – nearly half are ignorant and uninformed (I'm being nice)?

Maybe that "nearly half" gets all their news from CNN, and that's why!

Hmm, what happened to my post that was critical toward your silly article? There wasn't anything even remotely offensive in it. I simply pointed out that while you were busy writing five sentences defining what a recession is, that you might have also wanted to do a little research and point out that we have 22 quarters of consecutive growth.
It would be useful to point out when the general public is uninformed and mistaken. That's what news organizations should do.

How can we be in recession? The Government says everything is fine and inflation is low. Dont you believe the Government? And the major news media? They would never tell lies or misrepresent the facts would they? Open your eyes folks. You are being fed a load of garbage. This country is in big trouble and the news media and our elite liars in Congress and the White House dont want you to wake up to the truth.

How was the question worded?

Why don't you tell the real numbers instead of "make believe" numbers? What are the REAL numbers on the economy? You told us the definition of a recession,so how does that relate to the real numbers of our economy?

Would it not occur to the author of this report to mention that the people who believe we are in a Recession are in fact WRONG! The economy is continuing the long run up of expansion that dates back to at least 2002. It just shows that most people are ignorant of economic fact, and that CNN is a willing participant of spreading this ignorance.

This poll shows a majority of Americans do not have a basic understanding of economics nor do they follow weekly and monthly economic data that is published.

The ongoing expansion, which began in late 2001 after Bush's tax cuts, has survived the September 11 terrorist attacks, corporate scandals, ongoing war, natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, and an external shock that caused energy commodity prices to double. Yet the economy enters its fifth year of expansion this November.

Industrial production, which reached a trough in November 2001, the month the recession ended, has expanded in 30 subsequent months. Nonfarm employment has expanded by 4.2 million jobs since hitting its trough in May 2003, recording job growth in 27 of the next 28 months. Of these gains, 3.9 million have occurred in private industry sectors.

Expanding production and employment are synonymous with economic expansion, not evidence that another recession is looming.

Ok..CNN…here's your chance to be objective. Is the economy in a recession or not? OBviously..it is not and has not been for years. This was an opportunity to report a real story. It would help to point out how misinformed most Americans are. By leaving the next most important part out…you lose credibility. WHy are Americans so mis-informed? Look no further than this article.

"The recession numbers may be havcing an impact on Bush's approval rating"????????

What 'recession numbers'? Show me the numbers that support a conclusion that we're in a recession. Don't show me poll numbers from a skewed survey in order to taint the fiscal policy of this administration

OK, you reported half the story, what about the other half? You say people THINK we are in a depression, then give the definition of a depression.

So by the economist's definition are we in a depression? Or is it just a perception?

Funny how you neglect to mention that we are, in fact, *not* in a recession and have not been in a recession for many years. The economy is doing just fine. The reason so many people think things are going badly is because the news media relentlessly spins, downplays, or buries any good economic news, while trumpeting loudly any negative economic news, simply because a Republican president is in office. The bias and disinformation is so transparent that it's disgraceful.

Main stream media portrays the economy as being bad because if they didnt, Hillary or Obama wont win the election. How else can you explain that nearly half the people in the US think we're in a recession when we're not even CLOSE?

This story is incomplete because it is lacking the current economic data.
Why would a story on the perception of the economy not include the actual data on the economy?
Why did these people think we are in a recession?
Is CNN saying that we are in a recession, based on the beliefs of the people? Or are they saying that these people are incorrect in their perceptions of the economy?

Great story but… Did you forget one major piece of information vital to the story? The actual FACT that we are not in a recession. Maybe you should start reporting the actual facts?

Leave it to CNN to post just the results of the poll, and not bother to mention that we aren't, in fact, in a recession, and in fact haven't been in one for almost six years. Way to educate when you have the chance, Mr. Steinhauser. Good lord.

The economy is clearly not in recession. I would expect that those who think it is are not well informed. Their news sources are limited and they do not have inquing minds. I suspect many who think the economy is in recession are unemployed or working low wage jobs.

Its amazing how people insist the economy is in a recession, despite the facts on the ground. Unemployment is the same as the best years under Clinton, more people own homes, there's more jobs – the DJIA went from 0 to 9000 in the half-century leading up to now, and since 2001 has grown from 9000-14,000. 9000 in fifty years vs 5000 in 7 years. Income in Real Dollars is trending upwards, and is higher than it was during Clinton's heyday. Gosh, our economy is suffering SO badly.

This is stupid. A recession by definition is 2 successive quarters of neative growth in the GDP. The Fact that almost 50% of the population thinks we are in recession certainly explains why most households are in debt.

Many Americans believe we are in a recession because of the nonstop negative spin by the media. Virtually all of the key economic indicators have been favorable for years now, and the media has successfully portrayed the economy as being in turmoil. The media is always looking for trouble around the corner. The funny thing is the press did not have this approach near the end of the Clinton Administration, when there really was a crash coming.

This country is not in a recession, however, the media would like you to think so. That is why so many people think we are in a recession (technical definition is two quarters of negative growth).

How can CNN run a recession story when the economy has been growing every year except for one for the last 15 years?

Once again a poll used to move an Editorial to the front page.

And this prove what… that nearly half of Americans are ignorant of the current economic prosperity?

This poll reflects the efforts of the drive by media; including CNN, attempt to convince the viewers that our economy is bad simply because there is a republican in the white house.

I guess congratulations for a good job lying to America CNN!

It would be nice if this article had stated whether or not we actually are in a recession, rather than just the public's opinion on the subject, since being in a recession is something that we can quantitatively determine without relying on public opinion. Google for "US recession 2007″ and you see any number of articles predicting that we will have a recession in the near future, but no reputable source is saying that we are currently in a recession. Of course if this article noted that we aren't currently in a recession, it would make people wonder why half the public believes something that is provably false…

"Expansion is the normal state of the economy; most recessions are brief and they have been rare in recent decades."

Two things, one, you did not state the fact that WE ARE NOT IN A RECESSION, but in the expansion phase (normal) you cleverly put the definition out there but don't make the POINT of what state we are in.

Two, you easily could have noted that we did RECENTLY have a recession at the end of the CLINTON years (dotcom boom went bust) and it was the shortest ever because the idiot Bush enacted the tax cuts for people that actually pay taxes and that is also what got us through the possibility of our economy being DEVASTATED after 9-11.

One of the few bright things Bush did were the tax cuts as it saved our tails.

So you provide the definition of recession but you don't say we're not in one?

Part of the problem with the perception is that news organization print articles like this one that give the perception of a poor, shrinking economy even though it is expanding. The poll highlights ignorance and CNN doesn't seem to want to cure it.

Isn't it irresponsible for a news organization to report such a poll and, at the same time, fail to report whether the opinions cited have any basis in fact? The article itself gives objective criteria from experts about what a recession is, so plug in the numbers and tell your readers whether the poll respondents are out to lunch or not.

I guess the liberal media machine is working. People are misinformed constantly about the economy, politics, the war, etc.. The liberal media is only committed to an agenda. Facts and truth matter none.

I don't care what people think about the economy. The bottom line is the economy can me measured by GDP, real income, employment, etc. The actual poll question should be: How many people are duped into thinking the economy is bad?

It would have been telling to note that while Bush's approval rating stands at 36%, Congress's approval rating is much lower.

This story is ridiculous, at the very least a good journalist should include in here that we are definitely NOT in a recession, that the economny has been growing for something like18 straight quarters.

I find it hilarious that news organizations are always posting polls showing the public to be negative on the economy. First, you never post positive economic stories when Republicans are president. Second, do you even bother to ask the people you're polling if they understand the question? For instance, do your poll respondents even know how to define a recession? By the way, in economics a recession is defined as a decline in GDP over two or more consecutive quarters, not what you claim.

what the hell does race have to do with this poll. what do asians and mexicans and muslims and jews think the country is doing. were anybody polled an economist. the average person doesnt know what it is to be in a recession other then what the doom and gloom media tells them.

It is stunning how people could possibly think we are in a recession. This poll shows the danger of the negative economic focus of the mainstream news outlets that has clearly misled the public into this false belief. I know people have to also be responsible for their own ignorance, but when their sources of information are misleading it is hard to fault the fools of this poll.

Soooooo are we in a recession or not?

Gee, could that be because CNN and the other Democrat "news" channels play up even the slightest bad numbers, ignore the good ones, and don't bother to mention when the "bad" numbers are later adjusted upwards?

While many people may believe that the U.S. is in a recession, the fact remains that we are not.

This just shows the lack of economic education of the geberal public and the ability of the major media to capitalize on this ignorance for their own purposes.

This story is an attempt to create a story instead of reporting.

I wonder why the story has not corrected the public opinion with the facts?

The reason Americans think the country is in a recession is quite simply because the partisan media deliberately misrepresents the truth in a concerted effort to destroy the president. I imagine those who disagree with the premise that the country is in a recession also listen to independent media sources.

Is anyone surprised?

Is this article itself an attempt to further slam the president and undermine Republicans (by trumpeting his poll numbers and ignoring the democrat congress's role)?

What transparent shills you are.

Where are the poll numbers for the "Pelosi Do Nothing Congress"? 11% approval rating I beleive. The lowest in history.This recession talk just goes to show that if you tell a lie long enough people will beleive it.

Wow!! The mainstream media machine should be quite proud of keeping 46% of Americans that ignorant. We've had incredible economic growth in the last 3 or 4 years in spite of record oil prices and the sub-prime mortgage debacle and yet the left-wing media salivates at every opportunity to tell Americans how miserable our lives are. You can say what you want, but I choose not to take part in your "recession" – I know better.

If I landed from Mars and watched any news coverage outside of the financial networks I would think we are in recession too! Ten years ago, when the economic statistics were similiar (unemployment, job creation, GDP ect.) the news coverage was more positive for some reason. The African American middle class is larger and more properous than ever before and yet this poll suggests they do not have confidence in current economic policies? I don't quite get it. What is the alternative? Raise taxes and spend more and leave these same families with less?

Are you kidding me?

"The recession numbers may be having an impact on President Bush’s approval rating."

What recession numbers? Do you mean your flakey poll numbers?

Your expert is great at spinning the definition of a recession with this statement "According to CNN’s Ali Velshi, the National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. "

The actual definition for a recession is "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."

Even if his were the definition of a recession, what is the current unemployment rate? The GDP? Income? etc…?

The poll is all well and good…but it is garbage in and garbage out! The economy is clearly not in a recession….and financial person will be able to tell you that! If you ask people something they do not know the definition of…..of course they may try and sound smart by saying "why yes the housing market is down..we must be in a recession"
I also love the continued attempts at racial divide by breaking the poll into black and white numbers….great job CNN…I am sure Al and Jesse are happy….why not break it down further and add Hispanics to the mix….they are the new minority…..

Well, that just goes to show you that half of the people in the USA are idiots.
Anyone who thinks this roaring and booming economy is in a recession is truly ignorant of the facts.

It might have been helpful to include the real economic data – which shows that the 46% are wrong.

How about a story about how so many people have been mislead into this false conclusion?

I wonder which party these clueless people (46%) are registered. Perhaps they are Democrats?

How could we be in a recession with 6 years of straight economic growth and full employment?

Facts would be helpful – unless you want to perpetuate the ignorance.

Bush's low approval rating among "white people" has to do with him not being conservative (spending, lack of border control and inability to articulate why we are in Iraq). We want someone who is more conservative than Bush.

Since the black population is about 12 or 13 percent, why would your survey poll double that number without disclosing that the results will be skewed?

In addition to what people think, how about reporting the numbers. Is there a recession or not? What do the statistics say?

For those that don't think there is bias in the mainstream press…this is a perfect example of it….oh yea, I forgot that it's possible it's just total incompetence on the part of the pollsters and CNN for publishing it..

40% of the survey is comprised of people with a skewed view that is not representative of the whole.

The sampling of these skewed viewers represents over 3 times their percentage in the population.

So if you take a poll witout correct sampling…the poll cannot be correct, and this is a gross error because when a certain population of respondents is 330% higher than their representation in the population you are trying to poll, it's either gross incompetence or gross bias….not slight or overlooked.

this makes perfect sense! since, the northeast newsreaders DAILY,and i mean DAILY ,report complete and total lies about virtually EVERYTHING!!pols indicate this,doom and dipare,daily! these are godless heathens who desire a country more like france than america!goebbells had it right,lie often enough and it becomes the TRUTH!! and dim-o-rats and their treasonist friends in the media do it goebbells-like DAILY!!

Recession: Your neighbor is unemployed
Depression: You're unemployed

This poll is seriously flawed. If African-Americans make up 12% of the population, why would your survey be comprised of 25% African Americans? We all know that the press and media want everyone under a Republican President
to think all is wrong, but the economy is very good for about 80% of all Americans. If a Democrat was in the oval office, we would be talking about the records set on Wall Street, low unemployment and rising wages. Amazing how we never here those facts reported on a daily basis.

l, it's not such a surprise, really. Alan Greenpan warned of likely US recession. Moreover, with a budget deficit of $240++ billion in 2006, US economy is highly challenged in many ways, isn't it? Find what Greenspan said early this year about recession http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/26/ap/business/mainD8NHE4400.shtml

I forgot to add that once you throw in the race component, then it becomes an even "better" story.

This completely fails to answer the question: ARE we in a recession?

The answer is, of course, no. Every economic indicator shows that the economy is doing great. We can thank news agencies' hard work for convincing people of a total fabrication, and common people's complacency for not bothering to find out themselves.

These polls are stupid. They amount to getting people who generally aren't fully informed on a issue to give their opinion on something that isn't opinion-based. There are economic indicators to tell us whether or not the US is in a recession. What people "think" means absolutely nothing.

Then this poll becomes a news story. When did journalists stop being journalists?

Did they bother to tell them that the country is NOT in recession. Maybe if the MSM wasn't so biased against the President and would just report the news… we wouldn't have this problem. Of course most Americans are Sheeple and believe everything they are told and don't bother to do any research of there own. Kinda like the MSM. Hmmmm, that includes YOU CNN!!

Well, it's not such a surprise, really. Alan Greenpan warned os likely US recession. Moreover, with a budget deficit of $240++ billion in 2006, US economy is highly challenged in many ways, isn't it? See what Greenspan said early this year about recession http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/26/ap/business/mainD8NHE4400.shtml

What an ignorant, disconnected public we have in this country.

Oops! There I go again! One day I feel so good about the intelligence of my fellow man, and then this type of thing pops up. Now I am weeping for the future. I hope these people do not vote until they pass 12th grade.

Obviously those are ignorant democrats that watch CNN and think their getting trustworthy news coverage..

We are now polling only white and black americans and that is suppose to represent everyone?
This isn't a real poll it is a "how are you feeling" test.
Since you threw in the Presidents approval numbers why not Congress as well. The real recession is in Washington and both parties are at fault.

Scary how stupid Americans are. Why didn't the poll have a followup question: Please explain what a recession is. I bet less than 3% of the mental midgets polled could answer correctly.

So who is right? Are we in a recession or not? The article does a great job of defining a recession, but fails to mention whether or not the current economic situation meets said definition.

This is a ridiculous "poll" given that the mass media has been lying, and hiding news about how good the economy really is! It is amazing that CNN would report something like this, when CNN is a major reason there is this perception that we are in recession. And I am African American; we are NOT all ignorant to media tactics.

Record employment, near-record low unemployment, record incomes, record consumer spending, record household net worth, record stock prices and record corporate profits and these people think we are in a recession? From what planet did they just arrive?

We are moving more and more towards style over substance. People feel things that just aren't so, and nobody corrects them. Nowhere in this story does it say that we are NOT in a recession.

This just proves that people are dumb! They THINK we are in a recession, they THINK that global warming is going to kill us all in 10 years, they THINK that 9/11 was an inside job, they THINK that Katie Couric is a real journalist, etc

It appears the main stream media has succeeded in is dismal portayal of America.

so… are we in a recession? I would think not!

Since blacks represent about 10% of the population, why would this poll sample include a total of more than 20% blacks? Makes a substantial difference in the outcome of the poll, does it not, and is a 'misrepresentation' to say the least.

Of course people think there is a recession. Articles like this keep saying it. Lets just hope it doesnt become a self fulfilling prophecy. What more important, hating Bush or talking ourselves into a recession?

So what you're really saying is, more than half of Americans believe the country is not in recession. There now, didn't that sound better? I know it accents the positive and could lead to optimism in the country and Bush's approval ratings could go up, and people would start to think republican economic policies are working and they might actually look at the economic data and find out it's true and…..OH! I get it now! Hey, good story on the Poll results!

It shows the power of the media. Tell the lie over and over and over again and stupid people will believe it. When Clinton was President, economic performance like this was a miracle and the press just tripped over themselves to spread the word. The press has had nothing good to say during this entire expansion.

Thanks to the moderator for censoring my post. I guess the only way to get posted is with a "Bush is bad" comment. Pathetic.

The other 54% are blind or stupid.

btw, Milk is 4.29/gallon… but gubmint says NO INFLATION. YEAH RIGHT!!!

We have obviously been in a recession for the last 3-6 months.

Restaurants, Stores, Car Dealers, Housing… all sucking wind.

Opinion Research Corporation's parent company, InfoUSA, is controlled by Vinod Gupta, a noted donor to, fundraiser for, and supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Absolute idiots. 90% are probably democrats without an ounce of economic sense in their empty skulls. When 69% of them are black, you automatically know that they are most likely democrats. The more uneducated you are, the more likely you are a democrat. This poll proves it yet again.

This article is a joke.

First, it does not point out the simple fact that the country is not in a recession. The only reason people think there is a recession is because of CNN's garbage journalism.

Second, the poll points out Bush's poor approval ratings, while ignoring the fact that Congress's ratings are even lower. Of course, CNN is cherry picking facts for partisan reasons, but that is par for the course.

What do you expect from CNN? Honesty?

what about the approval rating of congress about 11% funny how you left that out of the story. pelosi and Harry Reid dont have the USA feeling to confident either. Seems like Bush's numbers are higher then Congress

Well, if you feel that we are in a recession, it must be true. GDP 3.8% unemployment 4.6%..
I hate when facts hurt feelings.

Well, I think that this poll isn't working very well. If this is some kind of online poll then pranksters must be doing continual voting. If this is phoning than you must be calling alot of Republicans. Maybe if you'd hit the streets you could actually get the real poll numbers!