Recession

A recession is defined as a "period between a peak and a trough, and an expansion is a period between a trough and a peak. During a recession, a significant decline in economic activity spreads across the economy and can last from a few months to more than a year." Historically, the United States have experienced many recessions, but the latest took place in 2007 to June 2009 and was referred to as The Great Recession. The Great Recession was said to be the most devastating global economic crisis since the Great Depression. "According to the National Bureau of Economic Records, December 2007 is the moment that the U.S. economy peaked, but unemployment climbed to 4.9 percent, and the recession began."

Published on March 15, 2013, Seen From Greece, Great Depression Looks Good is an article that that not only compares the tragic economic situation of Greece to that of the Great Depression the United States experience in the decade preceding World War II, but also gives a detailed report on the most recent trends of joblessness by sex and age group. According to this article, Women are more likely to be unemployed in every age group shown, and older workers are far less likely to be jobless than younger ones, and among men age 45 to 64, nearly one in six is out of work. Among men 30 to 44, the figure is one in five.

Compared to the United States during its time of the Great Depression, Greece is currently a lot worse. Some believe that the difference in the two economies when it relates to government consumption spending is one of the reasons why Greece is in a much worse predicament.

Honestly, I've never completely understood the term 'recession'. I know it has something to with a decline in the economy and I am aware that we are no longer in one, which is good to know. Whats important is how we act to avoid another recession. There have been a large number of cuts applied to the federal budget recently, and I'm afraid these cuts could put our fragile economy back into a recession.