The American economy has been transformed over the last
three years through centralized economic planning and big government spending. Americans have
less freedom to make economic choices today than any time in the past 25
years.
The result. Not
prosperity. Most Americans believe that
the inflationary economic policies of the Biden Administration have been harmful
to them. Inflation has eaten away at
their paychecks. Now there’s increasing
evidence that the U.S. economy is sliding into or already in a recession.
Here are five signs that the American economy is already in a
recession:
Falling Economic Indicators: The Conference Board’s leading
economic indicators are deep in recession territory. Consumers are struggling to pay bills. Consumer confidence is down. Even demand
for cardboard boxes, which are used to ship most everything, is down.
Rising Business Bankruptcies: S&P reports that the
number of business bankruptcies in 2023 was 72 percent higher than 2022 and
the highest in the last thirteen years. 2023
has been described as a mass
extinction year for startup companies. Pitchbook estimates that over 3,000 venture-backed
startups failed in 2023. 2023 was a
dismal year for companies going public.
Only 154 companies
went public in 2023, half the annual rate of initial public offerings
during the four years of the Trump Administration.
Falling
tax collections: federal tax
collections in 3Q 2023 are down 11 percent from 3Q 2022. Tax collections are a good sign of the amount
of private sector economic activity because the federal government takes a
share of all private sector earnings and profits.
Manufacturing Contracting: The Institute
for Supply Management reports that the manufacturing sector has been
contracting for the last 14 months. S&P’s
Chief Business Economist Chris
Williamson says about manufacturing that “an increasing sense of gloom
about the near-term outlook has meanwhile hit hiring and led to a further major
pull-back in purchasing activity.” So
much for blue collar Joe.
Declines in Temporary Employment: Temporary employees are
easier to lay off than permanent employees.
As a result, temporary employment falls more rapidly than permanent employment
as the economy enters a recession. According
to the BLS, employment
in temporary services has fallen for 15 straight months.
