DaytonDailyNews.com

In a news story last week that was headlined "Employers Cut Jobs for 6th Straight Month," White House spokesman Dana Perino was quoted:

"We are no doubt in a period of slow growth. It is growth nonetheless, but it's very slow, and it's had an impact on employment."

The lady doth spin too much. If there's a definition of growth that is consistent with job loss, that definition is irrelevant for most purposes. Either the spinners are talking about growth in the nation's overall wealth that results from growth in the population, which doesn't necessarily mean there's growth per person; or else, if average per-capita growth is actually happening, it's only because the average is being skewed by gains at the top that are meaningless for so many.

To understand what it means when an economy loses 438,000 jobs in the first half of a year, you have to know that the economy must add far more jobs than that just to keep up with population growth.

In other words, we've fallen a million jobs short of standing still. Growth, indeed!

For millions, the harsh truth is not abstract or debatable. In the Dayton Daily News of Monday, July 7, staff writer Meredith Moss told the story of local people who are having to cut back on travel, vacations and dining out. For others, of course, the problems are far greater, resulting in stress that undercuts family life and relationships. (For the stories, with suggestions from professionals and others for coping, see DaytonDailyNews.com/economy.)

Government hasn't been entirely obtuse to what's happening among real people. The federal "stimulus" check that was sent to taxpayers has come in handy for millions.

Indeed, the stimulus might be playing a role in maintaining the technical growth that Ms. Perrino refers to. The economy depends upon consumers spending money; to spend it, they must have it.

However, in Ohio, sales tax receipts only increased by 0.5 percent in May — after most of the checks were issued — after a drop in each of the previous three months. So the dream that the stimulus might deter a major downturn is not exactly thriving.

As another aid to people who are struggling, the feds have now increased the time during which newly unemployed people can draw unemployment benefits, from six months to nine months. That could directly help 280,000 Ohioans. Like the stimulus, it can serve as an anti-recession measure, though a small one.

Ohio is particularly lucky to get this money, because its own unemployment compensation fund is deeply troubled. All the new money comes from the feds.

Of course, Ohio is, as usual, particularly in need for other reasons. It's more dependent than most states on manufacturing; the national job loss of recent months has been concentrated in that realm and construction.

Meanwhile, the foreclosure problem has hit harder here than in 41 other states.

Also struggling is Wall Street. People there have been as reluctant to use the term "bear market" as the White House is to give up the word "growth." (Wall Street's vocabulary choices, however, don't seem to be about politics.)

Americans who have seen their retirement funds shrink all year thought the bear arrived long ago. But it turns out that the market as a whole has just reached the 20-percent-decline mark, which is officially where bear territory starts. So the bear market is actually new.

OK. But using the comforting words like "growth" and avoiding the bad ones like "bear" hasn't really helped all that much, has it?