Consumer confidence is at its lowest ebb since the great recession's depths, according to a CNN story by Annalyn Censky.
And why not?
Unemployment is huge, with the official number hovering at 9.1%.
But everyone who has boots on the ground and at least one friend knows perfectly well that the real unemployment numbers are higher (remember, the U-6 Official Measure of Unemployment is 16.8%, which is overwhelming).
And the real unemployment situation is far, far worse than that.
Because the unemployment figures don't reflect the fact that people who were earning a hundred and fifty thousand a year a few years ago are now earning $12 per hour, with no benefits.
And even though the official inflation numbers are quite restrained, if you go into a grocery store you'll figure out that those official numbers are officially...cooked, you know?
Now, I have a lot of respect for the opinions of ordinary people, because I are one.
And if consumer confidence is at the lowest point since the Great Recession, you know this for a fact: there was never a question about a double-dip recession.
It's never gone away.
How do I know?
I just count the people coming into my office, and look at the price of coffee, and then look at the price of a car in a 1975 magazine and compare it to the price today.
Things are bad, and I hope they get better fast.
But any attempt to fool consumers into spending money they don't have to bail out the economy when that's economic suicide for consumers isn't going to work.
Consumers are pretty smart.
