The Cone Project 6-27-08: Cheerleading again for the Doom and Gloom Economic News

Our chief local economic doom and gloom whiz doesn't know when to give it a rest.

This time, he proudly proclaims that "the bear arrives", noting an index benchmark has been achieved . He then proceeds to tell us "Like the official definition of a recession, the terminology doesn't really make much difference to most people". No irony is evident from him regarding the laughable inconsistency of measurement standards he exhibits in his statements.

He apparently sees some underlying need to remind his readers that things are much worse than they seem with his constant repeating of his "We're ALL So Screwed" meme. One can only guess his reasons, but rest assured there is some political/social/economic agenda philosophy behind them.

Meanwhile, unmentioned in his blog entries, and unknown to those poor folks who rely on "know-it-all pseudo experts" like him for economic intelligence, here are some things you might want to consider:

-- Economic growth continues, and positive signs exist for a strengthening dollar.

Indeed, Brian Wesbury at First Trust Portfolios thinks that:

"Recent economic data suggests real GDP growth is already accelerating out of the sluggishness we experienced in the last quarter of 2007. "

-- Factory orders remain constant for June

-- Retail sales look to be UP.

-- Existing home sales are UP.

-- Personal income is UP.

-- Consumer spending is UP.

-- Housing starts are virtually constant over previous periods.

-- Durable goods orders are virtually constant.

Do all these things mean that everything is rosy, that we have nothing to be concerned about? No, of course not.

But it does indicate that if you rely only upon what Ed Cone and the sycophant toads who enable him say, you're getting a decidedly skewed view of our economic situation. And you won't get the information you need to make the right decisions for yourself and your family.

However, you MIGHT just get the recession that Cone and his ilk propagate when their constant doom and gloom drumbeating wears sufficiently on consumer confidence. Or you could well get the COMPLETE financial disaster that would result from a Barack Obama presidency.