It's official! R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N!!

Despite the denials of economists related to certain trade groups or otherwise required to offer sunny forecasts over the past year, it looks like the U.S. has been in a recession for about one year, something many of us had known but didn't necessarily have the comprehensive data to back it up. From an L.A. Times story:

The economy's yearlong downturn, officially declared a recession Monday, could last well into next year or even beyond, challenging the government to devise new responses as traditional methods show limited results.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, the private body charged with determining the onset of a recession as well as its endpoint, said Monday that the current downturn met its definition of a recession: "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months."

The downturn began, the bureau said, at the end of last year as businesses started slashing jobs -- which they have done every month this year...

A psychology of fear has gripped businesses and consumers and is likely to prolong the recession, said Lee Ohanian, a professor of economics at UCLA.

"This one has a potential to be longer and deeper than other postwar recessions," he said. "People are very, very scared and worried. In my opinion the government has created much more uncertainty about the economy than it should have done. So it's really hard to tell how long this recession could last."

Government officials reiterated that they would do what was required to turn the economy around.

Well, at least as long as they can continue issuing debt.

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