Recession: Isn't it cute...?

The National Bureau of Economic Research finally announced that we are in a recession. More than that: We have officially been in a recession since December of last year. They just didn't tell you, y'see.

The psychological effects of "early dating" a recession are obvious. We've been suffering for a full year -- we've already lived through one of the longest recessions of the modern age -- and that means that recovery should be right around the corner. So spend, spend, spend this Christmas, because happy days are here again!

In the meantime: Arnold Schwarzenegger, who ran against Grey Davis after California ran up a deficit (due in large part to Enron's energy conspiracy), now faces a $28 billion deficit of his own.

His proposal includes raising the state sales tax by 1.5 percentage points -- or 1 1/2 pennies on the dollar -- for three years, generating $3.5 billion in the current fiscal year. He also seeks to increase the annual fee for registering vehicles.

When Grey Davis proposed raising reg fees (by a more modest degree, as I recall), the pro-Arnie media sneeringly called it "the car tax," a term which has a really nasty sound. You don't hear that term used now. Registration fees are going up, not the car tax.