The nation is adrift between two confidences. Confidence in what the Obama administration wants you to believe, reported as truth by their sycophants in the media, and reality.
For example on May 20 when the Consumer Sentiment index was released by Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan the media was happier than wood peckers in a lumber yard.
Headlines screamed ‘confidence is back’ as found at Bloomberg: Consumer Sentiment Climbs To Highest Since 2007. Across the nation the purported good news was blathered by every liberal talking head playing news reporter.
Quoting Bloomberg: “ A record number of households said they’d heard better news on the jobs outlook, which combined with cheaper gasoline and an improving housing market may help sustain consumer spending and shield the economy from Europe’s debt crisis.”
Then reality set in like a sucker punch at a peace rally when the real consumer confidence number was reported. Quoting The Washington Times: “The nation’s top indicator of consumer confidence took an unexpected tumble in May, suffering its biggest one-month drop since October and hitting a four-month low.“
What did they say was the reason? Slower hiring, difficulty finding a job, and the European crisis.
What’s the difference between a consumer sentiment poll and a consumer confidence poll?
Consumer sentiment polling is like polling on Obama likability. Why yes, he’s a likeable fellow.
Consumer confidence polling is like polling on Obama’s job performance. What? Are you nuts? A good job?
Good timing for the Obama administration with the report coming out just before the Memorial Day weekend. Haven’t heard much from the liberal press since the holiday ended? Why? According to the liberal media you were off on vacation because gas prices were low.
Recommended
Another Bloomberg story today presents a fantastic example of America’s two sets of confidence. Reporting on the banking crisis in Spain quote: “Its banks are largely paralyzed amid concerns about heavy losses on real estate loans that, by various estimates, could require as much as 120 billion euros ($150 billion) in fresh capital to offset.”
This made me think, Thank God America has a capitalist economy where taxpayers won’t be on the hook for any industry failures. Ours is a free market risk reward system allowing individuals and businesses the freedom to succeed or fail based upon their merits.
Bam it hit me, we are Europe under Obama, but it’s not all his fault. You have to give credit to George W. Bush for taking Paulson’s hook, line, and sinker; the world will go into depression within 24 hours if we don’t bail out my Wall Street buddies, kill my Wall Street opponents, and force banks to do something they don’t want, and pass TARP.
The door was opened wide for the ‘never let a crisis go to waste’ leftist radicals, and government invaded the private sector like a ship full of sailors hitting shore for the first time in six months. Unleashing Dodd Frank with too big to fail supplanting risk reward, the very essence of our national economic system. All in the name of saving ourselves from our own freedoms.
Welcome aboard the U.S.S. America where the Captain and the crew were granted permission to go off course. Now we find ourselves in uncharted waters, and they’re deep, $16 trillion dollars deep, and getting deeper.
When Americans are asked to have confidence by believing; unemployment is the lowest in three years, when we know it’s due to people no longer counted; gas is low, when we are paying 110% more than when Obama took office; Obama isn’t a big spender, when we know he is; when we’re told the economy is headed in the right direction, when we aren’t living it; that inflation is tame, when we buy groceries; foreclosures are at a three year low, when we see short sales at record highs; that the housing market has hit bottom and is rebounding, when we see for sale signs everywhere we look; we end up with two confidences.
Where will people place their confidence? In too big to fail, or in risk reward? In a government orchestrated taxpayer funded bail out economy, or a free enterprise economy? In what Obama says, or in reality?
We’ll find out on November 6 when people make their choice at the polls. The only one that counts. A decision whether we will head into more dangerous waters or sail back to the safety of the American way.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of Fritz Pfister or identified sources, and not necessarily those of RE/MAX Professionals of Springfield or RE/MAX International.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member