[Wildbill]

Help wanted index is how you make a prediction that the market is headed for its worst crash ever? Come on, there has to be more to it than that! If this indicator showed a huge decline, it might be saying something significant. All this says is that demand for workers is softening slightly, almost to a statistically unimportant degree. I don't doubt there is a lack of strength in hiring and I did say I think unemployment will be a problem for all those in the very narrowly based category you referred to, but in the end economists have shown that the actual unemployment rate is based on what generally are the best indicators that stand the test of time. Others tend to get revised to reflect the unemployment rate more often than not.

I am glad you don't follow the media's news, problem is most everyone else does. It is a big problem because those least capable of understanding the true flows of the economy are the most gullible to this unleashed attack. It is causing continuously declining consumer confidence numbers in the face of increase consumer spending. These numbers don't make sense, consumers if they really felt their prospects were getting worse would almost certainly stop spending at their current rates. Pundits keep pointing to the inevitable crash of consumer spending. Will it come? Well it won't if consumer fundamentals keep improving or stay stable. This whole gulf of one number not correlating to the other is caused by the media and its love affair right now with dour economic news. The media just loves bad news right now. I am rarely one to pull out the liberal agenda of the media, but I can't help but avoid it right now. As the elections near, it seems quite clear discrediting the Republicans and creating momentum for change to liberal ideas has to at least be somewhat behind this. The concept of getting more liberals in office to "protect" consumers from corporate America and its crooks seems to be the overriding interest. You get that by convincing people times are bad and will get worse unless you elect people that are going to pass dozens of proposals all aimed at "protecting" you. What garbage! I vote on both sides of the ticket, much like most Americans. I think Republicans are full of it as much as any Democrat would, yet I think the media and their urge to elect people that share their view of the world is disgusting right now and its in many ways hurting the economy.