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It’s shocking to see so many who remain in denial about the economy, specifically the pundits. Until they see two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth (a ridiculously misleading metric – see my previous article “How Washington is Fooling You With GDP Data”) they refuse to admit we are in a recession.

And the media acts as puppets, repeating these same lines without scrutinizing the data. Who do these people think they’re kidding? If you’re running a show designed to help investors, shouldn’t you be ahead of the curve instead of behind it? Serving as broadcasters for inaccurate data that’s been manipulated to fool the public does nothing to aid an audience looking for real investment guidance.

Apparently, even Washington realizes GDP data is highly inaccurate and makes revisions for up to five years. As of 2004, such revisions have already introduced question as to whether there was a recession in 2001. By 2012, we might see data that indicated we were in a recession in 2008. But that certainly won’t help anyone except historians who document the Bush era, in what will be remembered as the worst recovery attempt in U.S. history.

By now, even the most financially unintelligent consumers realize we’re in a recession. They feel it every time they fill up their gas tank and buy food. They’ve been patiently waiting for real pay increases. Instead, all they’ve gotten are a couple of rebate checks from Washington. What kind of charade is this?

Editorial: Denying the Obvious