The Recession Will End… Really, It Will!, the White House Says

Says who: Peter Orszag, White House budget officer

“The freefall in the economy seems to have stopped,” Mr. Orszag said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “The analogy is there are some glimmers of sun shining through the trees, but we’re not out of the woods yet.” (via the Wall Street Journal)

Why it might be crap: Don’t take our word for it. Some in the blogosphere think it’s just more blue-sky spin:

Recession Briefing 4.14

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Six months after taking a $10 billion bailout from the government, Goldman Sachs has posted a profit and is hoping to return the money — not least in order to escape heightened government scrutiny. (New York Times)

White House economic adviser Christina Romer expects that there will be more job losses in the coming months. Still, officials are detecting “small little signs that maybe some parts of the economy are stabilizing.” (Associated Press)

With the recession digging deep into Americans’ pockets, there is likely to be a large upswing in the number of first-time delinquent taxpayers. (Reuters)

Prices paid to U.S. producers fell unexpectedly in March after two months of gains, indicating the recession is keeping inflation under control. (Bloomberg)

If you come across a good article or blog post about the recession pass it on.

Group-Gardening is All the Rage

If you pick up one new activity this year, we are betting it will be gardening (if you aren’t doing it already). Thanks to a confluence of DIY fads, a need to grow-your-own, and the White House’s own initiative in this area, gardening seems to be taking on an elevated status in the Recession.

Over the weekend, WiseBread dug into (excuse the pun) the White House way of gardening in a group, noting, “That sort of combined effort can be exactly what it takes to create a gardening success.” The key is communication and good planning about what you actually want to grow (in case none of you likes eggplant despite your abundance of seeds) and fairly divvying up the work and expenses…

Redux: Digging the Downturn

Looking back to the Great Depression to see the path ahead.

Can we garden our troubles away?

During the Great Depression, people turned back to the land, growing vegetables in small suburban yards and vacant city lots. These subsistence patches were dubbed “depression gardens” and helped feed the nation during hungry times. People ate what they picked from their gardens, bartered their produce at stores for luxury goods like coffee, and traded regularly with neighbors. Folks reminiscing about those difficult times recall how much food could be coaxed from a few hundred yards…