On Sunday’s reliably liberal Reliable Sources on CNN, Democrat Party propagandist Brian Stelter predictably bemoaned how the media is “basically caught up in that debate” over whether the United States is now in a recession despite the well-established definition being two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. Instead of bringing in an actual economist, Stelter decided to talk to leftist New York Times columnist and pseudo-economist Paul Krugman.
Before he got to Krugman, Stelter opened by proclaiming “It's the economy, stupid. So how should we cover it wisely? We've all seen the headlines. They're impossible to miss. The economy is slowing, declining, shrinking. And the phrase of the week is recession fears.”
Continuing to whine, Stelter said: “It’s what you see in every banner. Recession fears. Economists seem to be struggling to explain this weird economy, maybe the weirdest economy we ever lived there.”
“People want to know is this a recession or not? The White House is arguing about the definition of the term. The media is basically caught up in that debate as well. There's a lot of confusion about it” Stelter claimed.
Finally finished ranting, Stelter laughably claimed Krugman was a guest he “wanted to interview for a long time” as if anything Krugman has to say is reputable or honest.
“Can we dispense with the recession debate real quick? Are we in a recession and does the term matter?” Stelter asked.
Krugman gave this false and un-nuanced response: “No, we aren't and no, it doesn't.” Meaning no we aren’t in a recession and it doesn’t matter if we are or not.
“One sentence, that was it?” Stelter said shocked at Krugman’s short answer.
“None of the usual criteria that real experts use says that we're in a recession right now. What does matter? The state of the economy is what it is. Jobs are abundant, although maybe the job market is weakening” Krugman falsely explained.
The New York Times propagandist explained: “Inflation is high, though maybe inflation is coming down. What does it matter whether you use the R-word or not?”
It matters because words have meaning and a recession has a specific definition. As of Thursday, our economy under President Joe Biden has suffered through two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. That is a recession.
This biased segment was made possible by Fisher Investments. Their information is linked so you can let them know about the biased “news” they fund.
To read the relevant transcript click “expand”:
CNN’s Reliable Sources
July 31, 2022
11:28:36 a.m. EasternBRIAN STELTER: It's the economy, stupid. So how should we cover it wisely? We've all seen the headlines. They're impossible to miss. The economy is slowing, declining, shrinking. And the phrase of the week is recession fears. It’s what you see in every banner. Recession fears. Economists seem to be struggling to explain this weird economy, maybe the weirdest economy we ever lived there. People want to know is this a recession or not? The White House is arguing about the definition of the term. The media is basically caught up in that debate as well. There's a lot of confusion about it. So let me bring in a guest that I’ve wanted to interview for a long time. Paul Krugman. He is of course the Nobel laureate and economist. A distinguished professor at the city university of New York’s graduate center, and a long-time columnist for The New York Times. Welcome to the program. Thank you for coming on.
PAUL KRUGMAN: Hi, Thanks for having me.
STELTER: Can we dispense with the recession debate real quick? Are we in a recession and does the term matter?
KRUGMAN: No, we aren't and no, it doesn't.
STELTER: One sentence, that was it?
KRUGMAN: That was it. None of the usual criteria that real experts use says that we're in a recession right now. What does matter? The state of the economy is what it is. Jobs are abundant, although maybe the job market is weakening. Inflation is high, though maybe inflation is coming down. What does it matter whether you use the R-word or not?
