There’s an old joke that says, “When you neighbor loses his job, it’s a recession. When you lose your job, it’s a depression.”
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner still has his job, so things are a-ok in his book.
“What the economy is going through is a necessary and very healthy adjustment as families and the government of the United States goes back to living within their means. That is causing a greater contraction in demand for credit than we normally see in recessions. And you’re seeing a very healthy increase in private savings behavior and partly in response to that. I think those are necessary, healthy dynamics although they will produce a slower recovery.
We would like to propose the Corollary to Geithner’s Law:
When your neighbor loses his job, it’s a recession. When you lose your job it’s a depression. And when Tim Geithner loses his job, it’s a celebration.
