The Biden administration is engaged in a pathetic attempt to brush off the economic woes people have been experiencing for months. Gas prices are far too high, the president admits, but it’s not his fault — it’s because of the big bad oil companies. Or maybe your local gas station operator. Inflation is cutting a massive chunk out of workers’ paychecks, the White House acknowledges, but not to worry — it’s just transitory. Or temporary. Or something. The economy has contracted for a second consecutive quarter, according to today’s GDP report, but have no fear: We’re not in a recession until Joe Biden says we are.

The truth is, we’ve been in a recession for the last several months — today’s report only confirmed it. The economy shrank by about 0.9% in the second quarter and 1.6% in the first quarter. This is, quite literally, the textbook definition of a recession. In fact, every period of two consecutive quarters of contraction since the dawn of government economic statistics has been labeled a recession — 1949, 1953, 1958, 1970, 1974, 1982, 1991, 2001, 2008, and 2020.