MYSTIFIED BY THE OBVIOUS

Wall Street jitters are back and the Dow dumps today. "Experts" say is because the latest retail numbers are disappointing... surprising.. even shocking. Duh. Hard to believe that smart people seem amazed as to why consumers sat on their hands (and wallets) in the last month. All they've heard is bad news, bad polls, bad advice, recession/depression talk. Surprised? Not me. America was told it's all going to hell fast so be paralyzed and hunker down on your couch. We're getting more of what we're talking ourselves into. That doesn't mean I don't believe there are real problems right now... but we're making it all worse with our moods and knee-jerk reactions, with much of it made worse by political campaign rhetoric. And the more government tinkers with the problems, the worse it seems to get. Think of how much fun an Obama administration would be with huge government growth at the expense of real-world economics. And did you notice that the day with the record-breaking positive Dow jump (Monday) was a government holiday... and banks were closed? Hmmmm....