When the U.S. economy recorded back-to-back quarters of negative economic growth—the definition of a technical recession—in the first half of 2022, the White House dismissed the data.
Administration officials and a chorus of economists argued that the labor market was tight, retail sales were up, and household finances were in good shape. As a result, it would be difficult to surmise that the national economy was in the middle of a downturn, they said.
Instead of relying on the widely watched gross domestic product (GDP) to determine the health of the economy, the White House was monitoring the gross domestic income (GDI), according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen….