Revisions: Economy Shrank Pre-Recession

[tritsofme]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy shrank in the third quarter of 2000, the government said on Wednesday in revisions to official figures that showed America was on the brink of recession months earlier than previously thought.


The sweeping changes by the Commerce Department also downgraded the expansion that followed the 2001 slump, albeit only slightly.

However, the revisions were not applied to third-quarter 2003 data -- leaving the most recent measure of growth unchanged at a swift annual clip of 8.2 percent. The next reading of third-quarter growth is scheduled for later in December.

Until now, statisticians at Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis believed the economy did not start shrinking until early 2001. But extensive revisions dating back to 1929, incorporating both improved statistics and changes to definitions, revealed a contraction in gross domestic product, or GDP, in the July-to-September quarter of 2000.

Instead of inching ahead at the first reported 0.6 percent annual rate in that quarter, GDP shrank 0.5 percent, Commerce said. The weaker estimate is mostly due to a larger drop in private inventories than previously reported.
(snip)
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/031210/economy_growth_2.html

Is this still just bush* and his enron accountants trying to blame Clinton for the disastrous economy?

[Skittles]

1. BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT

I am getting MIGHTY SICK of this republican government's revisionist history. They come back after THREE F***ING YEARS OF BUSH AND TELL US THIS???? BULLSHIT. BULLSHIT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[camero]

2. And here's the kicker

It's getting close to election time. Which means expect more revisionist history.

[FarLeftRage]

5. What she said!!!

I agree 100% here, this is simply Soviet-style revisionism at its'worst.

I remember that period of time, as well as many others here do and there was no proof of this...

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

6. Soviet style is right - the GOP seems to love Commies

We're on our way to an authoritarian sweatshop country just like the old USSR and China. Thanks to Bush and the Republicans.

[papau]

3. They even mess up the lie - leaving 4th qtr 2000 as expansion, so

recession did indeed start the middle of March 01.

and not under Clinton's watch.

Guess they did not want to challenge the folks that say when a recession starts and stops! :-)

Read the BS attached to explain - says in effect do not trust our numbers in the out years (they went back to 1929) - and that they moved money about based on "casualty insurance companies better allocated dates of loss". and indeed the changes were minor - just enough to claim Clinton had a down qtr from the Greenspan rate hikes - so it's not ALL Bush's tax cut's and tax cut pr's (that started in Dec 2000) fault! And forget Greenspan's testimony to Congress in Aug 01 that seemed to place start of problem on date Bush screamed out deficits do not matter - tax cut now - in Dec 2000.

Will the media catch on - or care?

our whore media?

:-)

[madrchsod]

4. i know skittles

is going to kick my ass- but there is some truth in that. i worked in the road building equiment industry and our orders started dropping off about this time. since the early 90`s the place was working 48+ hrs a week and then the orders were slowly tapering off in 2000 and really crashed in 2001. this industry feels the effects before other industries and recovers before others,but there is no upturn in business yet. the place i worked at has been owned by the same family for over a 100 years, so they have seen the economy rise and fall..the problem is now that screw heads in the government think their plans will work...and it ain`t going to. we are going to be fucked for along time

[Skittles]

7. bush took a weakening economy

and stomped it into the ground, where it remains to this day.

[tritsofme]

8. kick

nt

[tritsofme]

9. kick

nt