But when did you last see our own leaders raise taxes and cut spending in the face of a nasty recession?

"The latest strong decline is not a harbinger of a nasty recession but above all a technical payback after the tremendous rise in the previous month."

As one economist put it, "Even in a nasty recession, 90 percent of the work force has jobs."

Spain and Italy are now facing nasty recessions, because no-one wants to spend.

What resulted was a nasty if brief recession that, among other things, ensured the first George Bush's electoral defeat.

Indeed, it has significantly outperformed the US economy through a nasty recession.

Putting the genie back in the bottle cost the nation a couple of nasty recessions and years of high unemployment and lost output.

To fight that, all the leading economies raised interest rates - which controlled inflation, but also generated a nasty recession.

Yes, there was a nasty recession, but it happened so early that hardly anyone considers it to be part of the 80's anymore.

Getting it wrong will have profound consequences: a nasty European recession for sure, and - in the event that monetary union implodes - a world slump.