It may be possible to prevent a recession with the use of hand calculator. Or at least to check the arithmetic of our leading economic minds conjuring up a recession (despite most signs to the contrary).

From The Economist:

“The recent rise in corporate bankruptcies in America may well be a sign of much worse to come”

Further down The bankruptcy rate is at 1.28% up from a record low of 0.87% in November 2007. The bankruptcy rate in 1991 was 11%; In 2001 it also hit 11%.

“But most forecasters expect it to rise sharply over the coming months” the Economist reassures us, perhaps even rising above 1/10 of the number of bankruptcies in the previous recession.

The New York Times tells us:

“the number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the aid program began in the 1960s.”

Yet, use of a calculator reveals the current proportion of the population using food stamp recipients at 9.22% vs. 13.95% in 1968, or a 33% drop in the frequency of food stamp use over the last 40 years.

If you have a hand calculator, you may want to send one to your favorite New York Times or Economist correspondent to help them with the arithmetic required to understand the “economic slowdown”.