An article by Robert Reich on the op-ed page of Sunday's New York Times refers to "the recession in 1991 and 1992." It refers again to "when the last recession blew through in 1991 and 1992." And it refers a third time to "the recession of 1991-92."
There was no recession in 1992. Using the standard definition of a recession of two consecutive quarters of negative real GDP growth, the recession lasted from 1990 to 1991. Seasonally adjusted quarterly real GDP growth in 1992 was positive: 3.5% in the first quarter, 4.9% in the second quarter, 3% in the third quarter, and 5.7% in the fourth quarter.
If there's any more doubt about the matter, Mr. Reich could go check the Web site of the nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research, which carries a press release dated December 22, 1992, headlined, "NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee Determines that Recession Ended in March 1991." The press release said, "The eight-month period between July 1990 and March 1991 is a recession in the NBER's chronology. The committee thus determined that the recession ended in March 1991 and that an expansion began at that time."
The Times error might seem like an innocuous one, but it is politically charged. If the Times claims the recession continued through 1992, then the recovery must have begun in 1993 -- when a Democrat took over as president.
The Reich article published Sunday also claims that "In the second quarter of this year, consumers increased their spending at an annualized rate of 2.1 percent." In fact, as one especially astute Smartertimes.com reader points out, on Wednesday that number was revised upward, to 2.5 percent.
Can't Spell: A front-page article in Sunday's New York Times refers to a Gore adviser named "Michael Whooley." In fact the correct spelling of his name is "Whouley."