CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IN FREE-FALL

The Conference Board, a private research group, says that the Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 50.4 in July, down from the revised 54.3 in June. The decline follows last month's nearly 10-point drop. The continuing bad economic news such as near 10% unemployment and horrible housing numbers has consumers unwilling to part with their money. One component of the CCI which measures how people feel now about the economy now, declined to 26.1, from 26.8. Another barometer, which measures outlook over the next six months, declined to 66.6, from 72.7 last month.

COMMENTS:

Can you imagine how bad things would be if Obama hadn’t saved 143 billion jobs last month? Everything this Administration has attempted regarding any subject has not only failed, but has failed miserably.

TODAY’S QUERIES & ANSWERS:

Q. There’s a new leak in the Gulf? (Rod ~ Redding, CA)
A. Yes, and a dog is not involved. The belief is that a barge was mistakenly pushed against a smaller well rig. Who knows where this one will lead?

Q. Harry Reid says that the “Public Option” fully-blown government-run health care plan WILL be passed into law. Will it? (Jena ~ Killeen, TX)
A. I think they will make the supreme effort to pass it between the November elections and January, especially if the Republicans manage to pull off a substantial gain. Obama will certainly veto any effort on the part of the new Congress to repeal the Health Care Plan. Makes you want to contribute to Reid's reelection campaign, doesn’t it?

Q. What does the “unemployment rate” mean? (Alice ~ Wells, NV)
A. Persons are classified as unemployed if they do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available for work. Actively looking for work may consist of any of the following activities:
Contacting:

• An employer directly or having a job interview
• A public or private employment agency
• Friends or relatives
• A school or university employment center

Sending out resumes or filling out applications
Placing or answering advertisements
Checking union or professional registers
Some other means of active job search 

Now, how do they know if you are doing these things? So, the math gets to be about as fuzzy as someone claiming they have created or saved jobs. Also, if a person drops off the unemployment rolls, he is no longer counted as being unemployed.

TODAY’S QUOTE: (Why they call me a hermit….)
“A good artist should be isolated. If he isn't isolated, something is wrong.” ~ Orson Welles

TODAY’S VIDEO:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC211h9AY-4&feature=PlayList&p=5069CA2E213A9AF3&playnext=1&index=3