As I write this, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen more than 200 points on news that consumer confidence "unexpectedly" plunged. Confidence was expected to be lower, but "they" did not think it would be this low. Also, the past few weeks have seen spikes in weekly jobless claims even though "they" thought it would be lower.

Just who are "they"?

"They" must be a group of influential economists or market makers who gather together in some bunker and make predictions about the monthly economic reports. It seems like "they" are way, way overconfident. I wonder if "they" do this to make money on the market when it goes lower. That's the only reason I can see for "they" to make such silly predictions. Anyone who is out there looking for a job or trying to qualify for a loan or just keeping their heads above water will realize our economy is in serious trouble. Instead of building false expectations, "they" should spend time with real people to better understand what is going on and to come up with a solution to this mess!