Consumer Confidence, anyone else hate that bs term?

[debbierlus]

Every month they announce 'Consumer Confidence', a term that is meant to reflect the 'mood' of US consumers in relation to buying goods. For a while now, it has been 'low' or 'record low'.

Aren't we just a bunch of downers?

It is really surreal. You watch the financial geeks on cable talking about how to elevate 'consumer confidence' and what will make Americans spend. They then spend segment after segment pontificating how to change our mood.

As if being broke and jobless is a mood...

America is broke. The majority don't have jobs that meet the basic expenses of a household. It takes two people working full time to just make ends meet. And, these complete asses on television don't even acknowledge that consumer confidence is economic term created by a system of credit that allowed Americans to borrow & spend money they didn't have in the first place (and many were doing it to pay bills or buy food).

Just another empty term to reflect a economic system based on shell games and corporate enslavement.

Gross.

[DJ13]

1. It used to be widely called "consumer sentiment"

But that was before the Big Brother linguists came to power in DC years ago.

[Extend a Hand]

7. the two terms are for two different surveys

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mcsi.asp

The Consumer Confidence Survey™ is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS. TNS is the world's largest custom research company. The cutoff date for February's preliminary results was February 18th.

What Does Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index - MCSI Mean?
A survey of consumer confidence conducted by the University of Michigan. The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (MCSI) uses telephone surveys to gather information on consumer expectations regarding the overall economy.

[burning rain]

2. I sure do.

Use of it suggests the speaker's bought the BS of a consumption rather than a manufacturing economy.

[Mike 03]

3. No, but I detest how the survey is conducted

The only reason it is meaningless is because of the way the survey is conducted, just like monitoring inflation but eliminating food and gas costs.

[X_Digger]

4. 70% of our economy..

.. is driven directly by consumers. Whether folks are spending or stuffing cash into their mattress / bank / 401k seems like a pretty important number to me.

[Warpy]

5. The word I hate is "consumer."

When we stopped being customers and started being consumers back in the 50s, our dignity as people making choices about what they used in their lives was lost completely. We became objects of contempt, mindless gobblers who could be manipulated into almost anything.

Customers are sought and service is provided. Consumers are manipulated by packaging.

Customers lost faith in the system decades ago. Only the consumers are left.

[IDFbunny]

8. I never noticed

When I hear consumer I envision a pig. Maybe that's the point.

[Mike 03]

6. By the way, I certainly agree with you about how useless the CNBC reaction to the CC figures is.

No question.

It is a vicious downward cycle. They don't understand that confidence has nothing to do with spending.

Check out Bloomberg. They are much more intelligent over there.

[leftofthedial]

9. I'm just not sure...maybe I'd better not...

Shit! I'm just not sure.

[blues90]

10. Yes that and "at the end of the day"

The end of the day never gets here, it is a nightmare.