Hightower Lowdown

Congratulations . . . the recession is over! In fact, it ended two years ago, according to the Bureau of Statistical Silliness. Actually, it’s called the National Bureau of Economic Research, and this official committee of economists is not kidding when it asserts that the recession ended in November 2001. What? You say you’re out of work and can’t get an interview, much less a job? You say your 401(k) is now only a (k) and that personal bankruptcies are rampant? You say that two million jobs have been lost since November 2001, that corporations are dumping 200,000 workers a month, and that long-term unemployment is the highest in decades? Now, now--it’s not the NBER’s fault. In dating business cycles, they’re legally restricted to an academic definition of “recession” that bears no relationship to what you might call “reality.” Indeed, an economist at the Bank of America said that the declaration of the recession’s end is useful because it “should help confidence on the part of businesses, investors, and consumers.” Yoo-hoo, economists! Down here at the ground level, economic confidence usually involves having a reliable income, which--excuse my jargon --means a steady job with good pay.