The Bush administration refuses to call this a recession, but they are happy to make up new words to describe it.

On TODAY show Treasury Secretary will not say U.S. in recession
"We know we're in a sharp downclimb and there's no doubt that the American people know that the economy has turned down sharply. So to me, much less important is the label that's placed on it today. Much more important is what we do about it," he told NBC's Today Show.