FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Depending on which member of the Obama administration you ask - the recession may or may not be over.
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There were mixed messages coming this weekend from some of the president's top economic aides.
Larry Summers, head of the National Economic Council, said: "Today, everybody agrees that the recession is over, and the question is what the pace of the expansion is going to be."
He pointed out the U.S. was losing 700,000 jobs a month when the president took office - and last month we lost 11,000 jobs. He says there should be job growth by spring.
But wait... When Christina Romer - head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers - was asked if the recession is over, she said: "Of course not. For the people on Main Street and throughout this country, they are still suffering." Romer says she won't say the recession is over until the unemployment rate is back to about five percent. Right now - it's at 10-percent.
The Obama administration is doing a balancing act here. On the one hand - they want to show optimism that the economy is recovering - after all, there is an election in November. But - they also want to appear sensitive to the difficult time that millions of Americans are still going through.
However, saying both these things at the same time is confusing.
Here’s my question to you: In light of mixed messages coming from the Obama administration, do you think the recession is over?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Gordon writes:
It may be "officially" over but it is not over for those suffering double-digit unemployment or reduced hours. Government data does not pay mortgages or buy Christmas presents. Everyone in my family has a job and for that I am grateful. What is the old saying: No economist ever worried about his or her next meal?
Mike from Denver writes:
When people can find jobs and loans, then come talk to me about the recession being over.
Tom from Maine writes:
Yes, Jack, by definition the recession is over, but we are still in the recovery process with jobs predictably being the last element to be restored. Obama being a working person's president says he won't rest until everyone who wants a job has one. Semantics don't count for much; character is worth a fortune.
H. from Phoenix writes:
Far from it, Jack. It would not surprise me if this is simply the calm before the next economic storm.
L.S. from Rochelle, Illinois writes:
Yeah, the recession is over. Now will someone explain to my brother why he can't find a job after being unemployed for 18 months.
Suzanne from Naperville, Illinois writes:
Recession over? 2 of my 7 children are facing foreclosure, no permanent jobs for 1 year. Both are parents, college grads, one even went to law school. I heard Larry Summers on Sunday and wondered what world he lives in!
Lori writes:
Jack, No. If it was over, would President Obama be having a meeting with top bank executives about lending to small businesses?
Paul writes:
When I get a job, then the recession will be over!
Don writes:
Because of the Tiger Woods scandal, the recession is finally over for all the comedians of America.