NEW YORK (Reuters) – Consumer confidence unexpectedly deteriorated in December, hurt by increasing worries about the jobs market, according to a private report released on Tuesday.
I am so sick of “national” polls, and, frankly, I do not trust them, not one lick. Facts are what I care about, and the fact is that in November and December, consumer confidence rose, and it rose much bigger than expected, despite what the poll above is telling us.
Think about it this way – if consumer confidence declined in December, as the poll above tells us, why are consumers ending the year with such a big bang? According to data released today (facts), retail sales are up across the board to the tune of 5.5% above last year. It is the best showing for retail in five years.
The problem is that polls “scientifically” speculate, and we accept that speculation as fact. Contrarily, facts are real, and reality is far more appealing to me than speculation. Actually, the problem with polls is much larger than just producing speculation masquerading as fact. The larger issue is that polls can create fact. For example, if you keep telling consumers that consumer confidence is dropping, that might well happen based on a non-fact, or scientific speculation. Contributing to this problem is the fact that polls can be manipulated to create a desired outcome, and, even if no “conspiracy” exists to produce a desired outcome, the outcome could be different based simply on a word or two in the polling question. Thus, all polls are suspect, even if a “reputable” polling company conducts them. Come January, don’t be surprised to see consumer confidence higher based on the strong December retail sales.
Now, having ranted about polls, I do agree that Americans are worried about jobs, and they should be.
The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, says American companies have created 1.4 million jobs overseas this year, compared with less than 1 million in the U.S. The additional 1.4 million jobs would have lowered the U.S. unemployment rate to 8.9 percent, says Robert Scott, the institute’s senior international economist.
I do not fault American businesses for practicing capitalism. After all, the mandate of capitalism is to make money, and cheaper labor helps with that. As well, corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to make money for their shareholders, so shipping jobs overseas is in the best interests of capitalism and corporate shareholders. The problem is that it is not in the best interests of America, specifically, the American worker. No, I hold the U.S. government responsible for the massive shipment of U.S. jobs overseas. I hold our legislators responsible for passing tax legislation that actually encourages U.S. business to ship jobs overseas. In fact, I find it un-American that those empowered to protect America are actually working against America. Yes, indeed, this disloyalty is reprehensible and costly to all of us.
Trade in the day; invest in your life …
