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The Great Recession: Is It Time For A Name Change?

The Great Recession: Is It Time For A Name Change?
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In 2008, then-President George W. Bush announced that America was in the process of what he called an economic "slowdown." But by as early as that December, a new term to describe the weak economy had entered the public lexicon: The Great Recession.

What do you think the economic slump should be called? Tweet at @HuffPostBiz using the hashtag #RenameRecession.

At the time, there was little consensus how long the slump would last. The Federal Government had bailed out most of the major Wall Street financial firms and the U.S. had already lost a net total of 2.6 million jobs by the end of 2008 -- including 524,000 jobs in December of that year alone, according to CNNMoney. The unemployment rate was then only 7.2 percent.

Two years after the recession officially ended, many Americans continue to feel the downturn's pain. The unemployment rate remains stuck above nine percent, wages are stagnant and home prices continue to decline -- all of which have caused some to question whether The Great Recession is the best term to describe what the country has been through.

In a recent column, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman explained that he had started to refer to the current economic period as the "Lesser Depression." Brad DeLong, former Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Treasury, says that Great Recession might be underselling the current economic climate. Instead, he prefers the term "Little Depression."

Other non-economists have also given their two cents, like when Vice President Joe Biden last year said this was "Bush's Recession," according to Politics Daily. Conservative talkshow host Rush Limbaugh took the opposite position. "This," he said, "is an Obama recession."

Tweet at @HuffPostBiz using the hashtag #RenameRecession with your idea for what the downturn should be called. We'll compile the best answers.

See other names for the Great Recession coined by notable people:

George W. Bush: Economic Slowdown(01 of09)
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In April 2008, George W. Bush told listeners in New Orleans that America was "not in a recession. We are in a slowdown," the Denver Post then reported. This was just five months before the entire American financial system collapsed, requiring the federal government to bail out every major Wall Street financial firm, Fannie and Freddie Mac and U.S. automakers. It also led to widespread unemployment and housing crises.
Paul Krugman: Lesser Depression(02 of09)
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In a July 21 column, Paul Krugman wrote a column defending the use of a term "Lesser Depression." Until that point, the Nobel Prize-winning economist had used the term "Great Recession," while toying with other phrases that have yet to catch on. (Example: when was the last time you heard of the "Third Depression"?)
Brad DeLong: The Little Depression(03 of09)
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UC Berkley Professor Brad DeLong explained on his blog in June how the current unemployment levels didn't warrant the pronouncement of a full-blown depression. But he did not dismiss the fact that unemployment has hovered around or above 9 percent for the last two years. This has lead him to instead dub the present downturn the "Little Depression."
Joe Biden: Bush's Recession(04 of09)
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Joe Biden told NBC's "Today Show" last year that "There's never enough when you're trying to restore 8 million jobs lost in the Bush recession," according to Politics Daily. The intimation clearly being that the recession and the financial collapse happened on Bush's watch, and therefore the former president deserves his share of the blame.
Rush Limbaugh: Obama's Recession(05 of09)
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On November 6, 2008, just two days after Barack Obama was elected president, ultra-right wing talk radio host Rush Limbaugh squarely placed the blame of the coming recession on Barack Obama. "This," he told his listeners, "is an Obama recession."The statement, given the fact that Obama had yet to even be certified as president by the electoral college, may seem to some to have been ill-timed or even cynical. But this has not stopped him from making the same pronouncement again, and again, and again.
Ron Paul: Second Great Depression(06 of09)
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In an article Congressman Ron Paul wrote for Lew Rockwell's blog in 2008 entitled "The Creation of the Second Great Depression," Paul made the case that federal programs like TARP, if enacted, would bring about a Second Great Depression. In a separate interview on Fox Business News, Paul reiterated the point he made on Rockwell's blog, InvestmentWatch reported in September 2010. "I think we're barely at 1932 -- during the Great Depression -- and they call this the great recession but this is much bigger than anything in the history of the world -- in monetary history."
Robert Reich: Possible Double-Dip Recession(07 of09)
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In June of this year, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich stated in an opinion column for the Financial Times that the U.S. was falling into a double-dip recession. "It is unlikely that America will find itself back in recession but the possibility of a double dip cannot be dismissed, Reich said."
Sean Hannity: Obama Bear Market(08 of09)
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In the early days of President Obama's Presidency, when the Dow Jones appeared to be falling to 5000 points, Sean Hannity declared that the world was in the midst of the "Obama Bear Market," Media Matters reported. However, since the stock market rebounded, Hannity has admitted that he paid little attention to the stock market all along.
The Economist: Global Recession(09 of09)
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Throughout the downturn, The Economist magazine has used the term "Global Recession." This makes sense, given that in 2009 nearly every major economy, save China and India, was experiencing an economic downturn of some sort.
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