The Good News From Gloomy Consumers

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The condescension oozing through the opening sentences of this article was hard to miss. I agree with the author’s assertion that the current economic situation is no Great Depression and does not yet rival the economic woes of the 1970's but the author’s patronizing attitude toward "sad sack consumers" shows exactly why the majority of citizens in America today are pessimistic about the economy and the general state of affairs in this country.
Pessimism rules because "experts", and the government leaders these so-called "experts" advise, refuse to acknowledge the depth and breadth of current problems, the real (versus psychological) impact doubling and tripling energy bills have on a regular family’s budget and life, not just the impact on the hypothetical “Average Joe”. If experts and the government continue to deny the real causes of the problems we face (since we all know $4/gallon gas is not due to bumper to bumper beach traffic) and fail to offer any rational solutions, the current economic pessimism will not abate.

Germaine of AR 12:26PM June 27, 2008

The gloomy figures simply represent a general dissatisfaction with the direction of the economy, not a scientific assessment of economic statistical indicators. This is similar to current political polls where the 80+% who think the country is 'going in the wrong direction." In short, everyone is itching to see the current President out of office and the new one significantly change that direction. Until that happens, pessimism will rule, no matter what the statistics show. It is a political backlash we see, not an economic one.

MKG of PA 7:16AM June 27, 2008

Finally a breath of fresh air about state of our economy, and life in general. The steady flow of pessimistic news over the last year has overwhelmed our ability to see that we are indeed better off than a lot of previous times in our nation.

RR of TX 2:39PM June 25, 2008