The nation's inflation-adjusted gross domestic product has risen for four consecutive quarters following a mild downturn in the first nine months of 2001.

But under the proposed amendment, Congress could easily turn a mild downturn into something worse.

While California bankers and economists have predicted a mild downturn, other analysts have recently begun predicting more severe problems.

A balanced budget eliminates one of the few mechanisms to prevent mild downturns from developing into severe recessions.

Five or six jobs are lost, and this process, multiplied across the economy, can help to turn a mild downturn into a very painful one.

The tax cut of last year, along with the recent mild economic downturn, vaporized the revenues needed to deal with anything outside military and homeland defenses.

The funds in these states are at risk of insolvency even in a mild downturn.

When faced with a mild downturn, banks are likely to significantly cut back lending and other risky ventures.

WHEN the American economy fell into recession five years ago, it was the strength of the housing market that kept the downturn short and mild.

What starts as a mild downturn becomes a severe recession through the reaction of risk-averse, highly leveraged businesses.