Money & budgets
recession
A significant, broad decline in economic activity lasting more than a few months. Dated in the United States by a private committee, not by a government agency.
In full
The popular two-consecutive-quarters rule of thumb is not the official definition; the National Bureau of Economic Research weighs output, employment, income, and sales together and dates cycles well after the fact. Recessions matter to the federal budget automatically: revenue falls and spending on unemployment and other automatic stabilizers rises without any vote.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.